Sins of the Past
by space monkey ku
Summary: Sorry, I'm terrible at summaries. Vegeta is to stand trial for war crimes. I realize this doesn't sound like humor, but there's enough of it in there. Complete!
1. Storm's 'A Brewing

This is my first attempt at writing fan fiction. I would love to read your opinions and comments on this story, but keep in mind it is my first attempt, so be gentle.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own DBZ or any of the characters.  
  
SINS OF THE PAST  
  
Chapter 1 Storm's 'A Brewing  
  
Bulma still wasn't sure what had happened. One minute, she and Trunks were in the kitchen, having a quiet breakfast, the next she had a gun to her head and Trunks was pinned to the floor.  
  
"What do you want?" she demanded, frantically struggling against the strong arm pinning her owns arms to her sides. She could see Trunks was torn between trying to fight off the invaders and concern for what would happen to his mother if he did. All she could think to do was stall them long enough for Vegeta to come down and take care of them. She was sure there wasn't more than three, maybe four, and if not for the gun, Trunks would have already taken them out. Vegeta would have the element of surprise.  
  
Her hopes were dashed when she saw the figures coming down the stairs. Vegeta was with them, but he was slung over the shoulder of a huge man with a wild mane of silver hair, and yellow eyes. He wasn't moving, and Bulma couldn't see whether he was breathing or not from where she stood. Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt tears welling in her eyes.  
  
"What did you do to my dad?" Trunks cried, struggling against his captor. He knew he could break free if he tried, but he was worried about his mother. She did have a gun to her head after all, and he wasn't quick enough to not only break free but help both his parents. He looked pleadingly at his mother hoping for some sign from her to help him decide what to do. She shook her head almost imperceptibly, and Trunks ceased his struggles.  
  
"Don't worry, Boy," a voice said from behind the huge man, "Your father is fine. He's just resting." A tall man with black hair, and dark eyes appeared next to the first, closely followed by a red haired woman who appeared tiny next to the two huge men. They were dressed in military uniforms, but the three who came from upstairs did not appear to have any weapons.  
  
"Situation secure, Commander Amma," the man holding Bulma said as the three appeared.  
  
The woman and the shorter man exchanged glances, before the woman stared forward. "Hmm," she said, looking at Bulma, he hand covering her mouth, rubbing her thumb thoughtfully along her cheek. "I see that. I do have a question for you, Narok," she stopped in front of them. Before anyone could react, her hand lashed out and caught the man across the jaw. The force of the blow knocked him back into the cabinets, the gun slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor. "When did I tell you to hold a gun to a woman's head and frighten a child to control a situation?"  
  
"Hey!" Trunks cried, "I'm not frightened!"  
  
The solider holding him pulled him closer, "Piss the commander off, and you'll find new meaning to the word frightened, kid." He whispered.  
  
Amma glared at him, quickly, before storming over to snatch the gun from the floor. She held the gun away from her with two fingers, glaring at it distastefully, and began barking orders. "Back to the ship," she pointed a finger at the solider holding Trunks, "Res, get rid of this," she thrust the gun at him, "Abraxous, take the Saijin no Ouji back to the cells and be sure to activate the defense shields. Out all of you. And, Norak, I would suggest you stay out of my sight for a while. When you get back to the ship, report to Honos."  
  
Bulma risked a glance up at the woman from where she crouched on the floor. The woman paid no attention to her as she watched the soldiers file out the back door. Bulma took the opportunity to crawl over to Trunks where he sat on the floor watching the remaining soldiers curiously. She pulled him into her arms, checking him for any injuries, "Are you all right? They didn't hurt you did they?"  
  
Trunks tried to pull away, embarrassed, "C'mon, Mom, I'm fine." He didn't want the soldiers seeing his mother fussing over him.  
  
The door slammed shut behind the three soldiers, and Amma turned to the remaining solider, "You know, Sousan, I really hate that little prick."  
  
"You always have, Amma, you should know better by now," he shrugged.  
  
"That's not the point. I give the orders, and what he did is insubordination, pure and simple."  
  
"Excuse me," Bulma said timidly, from behind the table, still refusing to release Trunks.  
  
"This is the last time I let the Council talk me into taking him with. If I'm in charge, I can't have that sneaky little bastard undermining my authority at every turn," she continued, ignoring Bulma during her rampage.  
  
"Mmmhmm," Sousan mumbled, looking out the window at something he found suddenly interesting.  
  
"Excuse me," Bulma tried again, slightly louder.  
  
"When we rendezvous with the Tribunal, I'm telling them just that. If they can't accept it, I'm done. They can find someone else to do this for them. Hell, they could put the little prick in charge of his own team and see how well that works out. You know he'll just fuck it up, and who will have to bail his ass out? You and me, that's who."  
  
"Exactly," he drawled.  
  
"You're not listening to a word I'm saying. You do that every time. I don't know why I."  
  
"Excuse me!" Bulma suddenly shrilled.  
  
The soldiers turned to face her, surprised, as though they had forgotten she was there.  
  
"Who are you? What are you doing in my house?" she wailed.  
  
"And what did you do to my father?" Trunks demanded.  
  
Ammas cuffed Sousan upside the head, "See what you do?"  
  
"How is this my fault? It wasn't my job to make sure they were informed about what was going on. You're in charge of this operation," he retorted.  
  
"Stupid prick, he should have told them," she muttered, "We're from the Intergalactic Federation. We've come to arrest the Saijin no Ouji and take him to the Tribunal to determine if he will stand trial."  
  
"Trial?" Bulma wailed, "Trial for what?"  
  
Sousan looked at her with cold eyes, "War crimes." 


	2. Will You Stop Touching Me

I know the first chapter wasn't that exciting, but hey, everything needs a set up. I'm sure you aren't here to listen to me babble (although I am rather good at it), so quit listening to me and get reading..  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Will You Stop Touching Me  
  
Bulma leaped to her feet, "What are you talking about?" she cried. Her mind racing, not only trying to figure out who they were, but why they had come. What they were telling her made no sense.  
  
"The Saijin no Ouji will be taken before a tribunal that will decide his fate." Amma told Bulma her tone slightly more compassionate then her partner's had been.  
  
"I don't understand any of this." Bulma moaned, sinking into a chair.  
  
Amma ran her hand through her hair, she hated this part, "Look, the whole Tribunal thing is new. It's only been around a few years, so they have a lot of catching up to do. The Saijin no Ouji was brought to the Council's attention recently. Because it's been such a long time, they are allowing him the chance to plead his case before an actual trial."  
  
"Which mean?"  
  
"It means he will be brought before a special council. He will have a chance to defend his actions, and if they are satisfied there were extenuating circumstances and his ways have been changed, they will let him go."  
  
"He has changed!"  
  
"Then there should be no problem." Amma shrugged, "We'll take him to the council, he'll have a chance to speak his peace and he should be let go. Simple as that."  
  
"It's not as simple as that!" Bulma was on her feet again; "He will never defend his actions to some council! He has too much pride for that!"  
  
"That would pose a problem." Amma shrugged, "But then again it's not my problem. He should be awake in a few hours, and maybe you can convince him to help himself. We have some time before we are set to rendezvous, since this seems to bother you so much. I suppose I can allow a meeting."  
  
"You're damn right this bother me! You have come here, broken into my home, taken my husband, and for what? Things that happened another lifetime ago?"  
  
Trunks, who had been sitting quietly on the floor, walked slowly over to his mother. He had never seen her this angry before, and though he wouldn't admit it, he was frightened. "Mom? What are they going to do to Dad?' he asked, softly, afraid to hear the answer.  
  
"Well?" Bulma cried, "Don't you have an answer for him? He has a right to know what you're doing to his father!"  
  
"Amma," Sousan suddenly interrupted, turning from his position looking out the window, "Abraxous is coming back."  
  
"Shit!" she cried, storming to the door, "Who screwed what up now?"  
  
As soon as Sousan saw her rushing across the lawn, he turned back to Bulma. "When she comes back, ask her for her help again, but this time touch her when you do." He was grinning evilly.  
  
"Why?" Bulma asked, suspiciously. There was something about his grin that made her nervous.  
  
"She's an empath. She will sense all your emotions through touch. She has the power to make the decision about the trial on her own. The council trusts her judgement, there is no reason we have to take your husband to them if we can determine what you say is true."  
  
"Why are you telling me this?"  
  
"I can tell something about this particular case bothers, Amma. I have a feeling she will regret turning this over to the council. I will not allow that to happen again." His voice trailed off, but he shook his head and grinned at her, "Besides it will annoy her to no end to have more work to do, and I take a perverse pleasure in tormenting her."  
  
Bulma shivered; there was something charming, yet creepy about that smile. She pulled Trunks closer to her.  
  
The back door banged open and Amma stormed through. "Would you believe he was coming all the way back here to tell me everything was fine? He may be the most loyal creature there is, but he is dumb as a post."  
  
"That would explain his loyalty to you." Sousan grinned at her.  
  
She glared at him, "C'mon, we have things to do. I want to be sure Honos has properly reprimanded Norak." She turned to Bulma, "I will send someone to retrieve you when your husband wakes." She turned to leave.  
  
Bulma wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing, but she was sure that it would be her only chance to save Vegeta. She rushed forward and grabbed Amma's arm, "Please isn't there anything you could do to help?"  
  
Amma yanked her arm away as though she had been burned. The pain and fear that came pouring into her as the result of that touch was overpowering. She had to get away as quickly as possible. "No." she said simply and fled through the back door.  
  
Tears welling in her eyes, Bulma turned to Sousan.  
  
"Wait." He told her in a tone that held promise, before he turned and followed Amma out the door.  
  
Bulma sank into a chair as the door closed, covering her face with her hands. She wouldn't allow herself to cry, not with Trunks watching her.  
  
"Mom? What's going on? Why would they want to arrest Dad?" Trunks asked in a pleading tone.  
  
"It's a mistake." She lied. It was too much to deal with now. Trunks didn't know the whole story about his father's past and now wasn't the time to tell him. What am I going to do? She wondered, Obviously the situation can't be dealt with by brute force. Vegeta would have taken care of it already. C'mon, girl, you're suppose to be a genius here, you can figure this out.  
  
"Why don't you tell them they've made a mistake?" Trunks asked, "I bet if you called Goten's dad he would come over here and straighten them out."  
  
"You know, Trunks, that's not such a bad idea." Bulma was surprised she hadn't thought of it. Although calling Goku to help Vegeta was definitely not an option, "I don't know about Goku though. We don't need someone to fight, we need."  
  
"Someone smart." Trunks interrupted, "What about Piccolo? He's real smart. I bet he could explain the mistake and get Dad out of there."  
  
Piccolo's not much better than Goku, Bulma thought, "No, not him. We need someone more subtle."  
  
"What about Gohan? He's real smart too. Plus I don't think he's as scary as Piccolo could be." Trunks said, proud of himself for thinking of it.  
  
"You know, kid, that's a good idea. You're pretty smart yourself." Bulma told him, going to the phone.  
  
The back door banged open before she had taken more than a few steps. "Sit down, shut up, and listen carefully!" Amma cried, bursting into the kitchen, looking furious.  
  
Bulma quickly complied, trying hard to keep herself from getting her hopes up.  
  
"Here's the deal. I will get the Council to allow me to make the final decision on your husband's fate. I'm making no promises, though, and I don't want you crying if things don't go your way. Understand?"  
  
Bulma nodded, still not sure what it all meant.  
  
"I will only be able to buy a few days, and if he doesn't convince me that he shouldn't stand trial, he's going to the tribunal."  
  
"But." Bulma tried.  
  
Amma held up her hand, "And don't even think of trying that touching thing again. I know where you got the idea for that, and it won't work again."  
  
Bulma nodded, numbly.  
  
"Also, I don't want you telling people we are here. If you do, the deal if off. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes, yes, oh thank you." Bulma breathed, relieved, it was something. There was still a chance.  
  
"Don't thank me. And more importantly, don't piss me off." With that she left.  
  
"Does that mean they're letting Dad go?" Trunks asked.  
  
"No, but there's a chance, and that's something." She told him hugging him, and this time he didn't protest. 


	3. Kids? No Sir, Don't Like Them

Chapter 3 Kids? No, Sir, Don't Like 'Em.  
  
How do I get myself into these situations? Amma wondered, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. The council had given her a week, which is more than she thought they would, but even after an hour, she still couldn't think of how she had gotten herself into the situation. Stupidity, that's how. You know how Sousan is and you left him alone with her. Then like an idiot you stroll in there and forget to shut down. She still couldn't believe how stupid she had been. Now she had to figure out how she was going to make the decision.  
  
"It sucks to be an empath." She said out loud.  
  
"What's an empath?" a tiny voice asked from the other side of the room.  
  
Amma nearly fell out of her chair trying to turn around, she thought she was alone, "Who the fuck is that?" she cried. A tiny boy with dark wild hair sat perched on the table behind her, watching her with dark innocent eyes.  
  
"It's me, Goten." He answered as though she should have known.  
  
"Great." Amma said, "Why are you here and how did you get in?"  
  
"Trunks told me there were aliens here and I wanted to see them. Someone left a window open, so I just climbed in."  
  
"This is a space ship, kid. We don't have windows." Amma told him, thinking she would have to find what he was talking about and be sure it was closed up.  
  
Goten giggled, "It looked like a window." He shrugged.  
  
"That's really interesting, but I have things to do. Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't like kids, and you're a kid, so why don't you go do kid stuff somewhere else?"  
  
"Why don't you like kids?"  
  
"They're dirty, smelly, and loud."  
  
Goten pulled the front of his shirt to his nose and sniffed, "I don't smell." He told her grinning again.  
  
She clamped her hand over her mouth to hold in the laughter. It was so unexpected, "Good for you." She couldn't remove her hand, she knew if she did she wouldn't have been able to stop her laughter.  
  
"So you don't have kids?"  
  
"If I don't like them, why would I have them?"  
  
"Oh, okay, that makes sense." He grinned.  
  
"Glad you understand. Now the important thing here is that you don't tell anyone I'm here. See your friend wasn't suppose to say anything, so not only can't you tell anyone, but it would be a good idea to remind your friend he screwed up by telling you. Think you can do that?"  
  
He jumped off the table, "Sure. Are you going to let Trunks' dad go soon?"  
  
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Not only was the kid not supposed to know she was here, but he certainly wasn't supposed to know she had a prisoner. "He told you that too?"  
  
"Yeah, but I won't tell anyone. I just wanted to know, since my dad will probably be coming to spar with him, and I was wondering what I should tell him. Bulma probably has an idea, so it should be okay." He started towards the door.  
  
"Wait a minute, kid!" she called, an idea suddenly coming to her, "Is your dad friends with the Saijin no Ouji?"  
  
"Friends with who?"  
  
"Trunks' dad."  
  
"Yeah, they've been friends a longtime, at least I think so. They fight a lot, but I think they're really friends."  
  
Amma suddenly smiled, this kid might have some valuable information, and best yet, he was too young to be discreet. That would work to her advantage. "Are you hungry, kid?"  
  
"Are you kidding?" he cried, nearly tackling her as he ran to her.  
  
"C'mon, I'm hungry, so why don't you come with me and we'll get something to eat, and talk some more about you and your friends, huh?"  
  
"I thought you didn't like kids."  
  
"I don't, but you're not as bad as some of the others I've met. Remember? You don't smell." She couldn't hold back the laughter this time.  
  
Goten grinned at her, and grabbed her hand as they walked down the corridor.  
  
Amma snatched her hand away alarmed. She couldn't believe how bad she was slipping.  
  
"I'm sorry." Goten told her looking frightened, "Sometimes I forget how strong I am. I didn't mean to hurt you."  
  
"No, no, you just scared me that's all. I wasn't expecting you to grab my hand. It's not a good idea to touch an empath without permission." She was confused, in all her years of sensing other people's feelings, she had never had an experience like she did when Goten touched her hand. The kid's heart was full of wonder, innocence and love, there was no hate, anger, or regret. It was the first time she had ever found anyone free of those emotions. "I didn't mean to scare you, kid." She told him in way of apology, and stretched her hand out to him again.  
  
He nervously took her hand again. "What is an empath?" he was still a little nervous she could tell by his voice.  
  
"I can read what is in people's hearts just by touching them. That's why I don't like to be touched without warning. I can shut down if I want, but if I'm not thinking of it, well, it's not a good thing."  
  
"I'm sorry." He told her, "I wouldn't have done it if I knew. I was just trying to be nice."  
  
"I know, kid, I know." She ruffled his wild hair. "So tell me more about your dad." 


	4. Sucks to be You

Chapter 4 Sucks To Be You  
  
Amma and Goten sat across from each other at a long table. The table was covered with wrappers and dirty dishes; some had spilled off the table onto the floor. Amma watched him shoveling food into his mouth, and found herself regretting her offer to feed him.  
  
"Do you have any more of these?" Goten asked, holding out an empty bag of chips.  
  
She dug around the table until she found another bag. "You know," she said, "if you chewed with your mouth closed, you might keep more in your mouth and less on the table."  
  
He stopped chewing and grinned at her, "That's what Videl always says."  
  
"Then it's not just me, huh?"  
  
He shook his head still grinning.  
  
"Okay, let me see if I got this straight." Amma leaned back in her chair, and rested her feet on the table, "You're dad was dead when you were born. Then seven years later, he came back for a tournament, but he was still dead. Is that right?"  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
"So he got to come back for one day, and that's what he wanted to do? He couldn't think of anything better to do with his one day back from the dead?"  
  
Goten nodded, looking puzzled.  
  
There were so many questions to ask to try and make sense of that, but she knew there was no way to get the answers from an eight-year-old. She thought it wise to drop that subject and continue. "Then to make a long story short, all hell broke loose, and when it was all done, your dad was alive again?"  
  
"Yeah, except you forgot about the fusion."  
  
"No, I didn't forget about it I left it out."  
  
"Why? That's the best part." He pouted, "It was so cool. We."  
  
"To be totally honest with you, kid, that whole fusion thing really creeps me out. I'd rather skip over that." She tried to think of how to proceed, but was at a loss for words, "This whole thing sounds."  
  
"Really cool, you should have been there."  
  
"No, I was thinking more of something like," she paused, "made up, maybe?"  
  
"It's all true!" he cried, "Why would I make it up?" His face screwed up in a pout, and he crossed his arms defiantly across his chest.  
  
Amma knew he wouldn't lie, she didn't think he had it in him, and even if he tried, it would be written all over his face. She held her hands up in surrender, "I didn't say you made it up. I said it sounded like it could have been made up. Where I come from we don't have anything like that. You can understand how that would all sound strange to me, right?"  
  
"Sure." Goten said; though his face remained angry.  
  
Amma sighed, she knew there was a reason she avoided kids, they could be so moody. If she couldn't make him happy, her plan would never work. "Hey, did you want more ice cream? If we don't eat this soon it will melt."  
  
Goten's grin returned, "Sure. My mom never lets me eat this much ice cream."  
  
"Now you see why I don't have kids. I'm not qualified to take care of them properly."  
  
"I think you are."  
  
"Sure, you do. I'm letting you eat all that ice cream. I'll tell you now, if your mom comes looking for me after you get sick, I don't know you."  
  
Goten grinned around a mouthful of ice cream.  
  
"Now how does the Saijin no Ouji fit into all this?" she tried to get back to the subject.  
  
"You mean Vegeta right?"  
  
"Yeah, Trunks' dad."  
  
"Why do you call him that?"  
  
"It means prince of the saijins. That what he is. Or was anyway. You know what saijins are, right?"  
  
"Sure, my dad's a saijin."  
  
Amma's jaw dropped. That was the last thing she expected to hear. There was only supposed to be one left. She wasn't sure what that this meant. All reports the council had were that the entire race was gone, at least until a few years ago. There had been rumors that the prince was alive but no solid evidence. It was believed he had died shortly before Frieza. It had taken forever to track him down, and now to find out there were more. She might be here longer than she thought. Her mind was blank and she had no clue how to proceed.  
  
"Trunks said something about that once. I didn't know that until he told me. No one really talks about it. It makes Vegeta mad to talk about it, I guess." Goten continued, unaware of her shock.  
  
The door behind them slid open and Sousan strolled in. "What have you been smoking?" he demanded, staring at the table.  
  
"We're having a conversation here." She couldn't believe he would interrupt her at this point.  
  
"It looks like you're cleaning out the refrigerator. What are we suppose to eat tomorrow?" he came behind her and wrapped his arm around her neck, trapping her in a headlock, "Bet you didn't think of that, did you?" he whispered in her ear.  
  
"Hey!" Goten cried, leaping to his feet, "You're not suppose to touch her without permission!"  
  
Sousan froze, "Who's your new bodyguard?"  
  
Amma laughed, "Trust me, kid, when Sousan walks in a room, I'm ready for him. This is Goten," she said, tilting her head back to look in Sousan's eyes, "his dad is kinda sorta friends with the Saijin no Ouji."  
  
"Kinda sorta, huh?"  
  
"He's apparently a saijin, too."  
  
"Hmmm, that is very interesting." He moved away to sit in a chair across the room, "What do you think about it?"  
  
"Not sure yet."  
  
"Well, I came to tell you Honos has reprimanded Norak."  
  
"Is he still in the infirmary?"  
  
"Sorry to disappoint you, but no. Honos thought you might want to have a talk with him later. Aescapulus was disappointed though, he was hoping for some serious injuries so he had something to do."  
  
"I don't even want to hear you bitch about how we should have brought Bridget instead. I had no problem with that. I can't help the fact that she got sick. She is suppose to be a doctor after all, you would think she would take better care of herself."  
  
He scowled at her; "You don't have to rub it in." then he grinned, "By the way, the Saijin no Ouji is awake, I'm sure you would want to talk to him. You aren't doing anything anyway."  
  
She glared at him, "I hate to remind you, but if it weren't for you, we'd be getting ready to go home, which I would much rather be doing. But no, thanks to you, I have to go talk to a pissed off prince."  
  
"Sucks to be you." He shrugged.  
  
"C'mon, kid, I have things to do, it's time for you to go do your kid stuff now." Amma said, standing and stretching out her hand to him again.  
  
"What about this mess?" Sousan demanded, knowing what was coming.  
  
"Clean it up, I have stuff to do." She turned as she reached the door, "And don't try to pawn it off on Ab, either. He'll tell me if you do."  
  
An empty ice cream container came flying at the door as it closed.  
  
"He sure seemed mad." Goten said, as Amma escorted him to the door.  
  
"He's always like that. It's best just to ignore him. I do."  
  
"What are you going to do to Vegeta?"  
  
"I have some things to discuss with him. Once I talk to him, I'll know more." She stopped and looked at him. "I need you to promise me you won't tell anyone about being here, okay? That has to be our little secret."  
  
"Sure, I can keep secrets."  
  
"Better than your friend, I hope."  
  
"Sure, I won't tell anyone."  
  
"Good, I may need your help with some things. Next time you come, I may have some things for you to do. What do you think of that?"  
  
"Like secret agent stuff?"  
  
"Yeah, something like that."  
  
"Cool! I'll see you tomorrow." He rushed to the door and outside. 


	5. I'm Not Even Suppose To Be Here

I hadn't planned on updating this soon, but since I got a review, I figured why not? Anyway, this is for nene2, thanks for the review.  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 5 I'm Not Even Suppose To Be Here  
  
The darkness began to subside, only to be replaced by one thing- pain. Vegeta groaned and tried to remember what had happened. He had been uneasy the last few days, although he couldn't think of why. It was like he was waiting for something. So he had done the only thing he could to deal with the uneasiness, he had trained. He trained as hard and for a long as he could, before exhaustion took over and he was able to sleep. Maybe that was what had happened, he had hurt himself training. He slowly opened his eyes, but bolted upright in shock. Instead of lying in his own bed, he was in a strange room. One that looked a bit like a prison cell, simply because of its lack of furnishings. The sudden movement sent waves of pain through his head, and he sank back onto the bed. His arm was throbbing too for some reason, and when he looked at it he saw blood drying from a small, but deep wound. The pain was quickly replaced by an overpowering anger. He no longer cared where he was or why, only about finding out who had dared to do this to him, and making them pay. Ignoring the pain, he pushed himself up, and began searching for a way out. No windows, or doors, it looked like the only way out would be to blast a hole in the wall. Having made his decision, he stood, and his best to ignore his blurry vision as he tried to figure out which wall would be best.  
  
The wall suddenly slid open and Amma stormed in. "All right, here's the deal, Your Highness. I'm not even supposed to be here. I should be preparing to leave so that in a few hours I can have my week's worth of leave. But no, instead of a week of drinking, fighting and sex, not in that order, mind you, I have to be here watching you scowl at me like that." She flopped down on the bench across from him and glared.  
  
Vegeta rubbed his aching head, and growled, "Is there a point to your babbling?"  
  
"Yes, there is, aren't you listening?"  
  
"Then get to the point. I don't have time to listen to you."  
  
"Actually, yes you do. You're not going anywhere until I say you can." She crossed her arms and regarded him smugly. "You're my prisoner."  
  
"What?" he cried. It was bad enough someone had managed to capture him, but to think this ridiculous woman was responsible was almost more than he could bear.  
  
"What part are you having trouble understanding?"  
  
"I've had enough of your games, woman. Tell me what is going on or I'll."  
  
"Do nothing." She finished for him, "See that all goes back to the prisoner thing. You're stuck here and there is nothing you can do about it until I decide to let you go. If you should still get any funny ideas, there are a few things you should know. First of all, this whole room is a sort of shield. It will withstand any energy attacks you should try, and protect the rest of the ship. So escape that way is impossible. Then in case that isn't enough," she held up a small black box that looked like a remote control, "I have this cool clicker thing."  
  
"Which is?" he folded his arms across his chest to keep from charging the woman and shoving her through a wall.  
  
"You piss me off, and I push one of these buttons. Let's just say the result will be severe pain. Normally we would have collared you while you were sleeping, but since you are a prince, we thought you deserved a little special treatment. No need to thank us." She held a hand up, as though to stop him.  
  
Vegeta's scowl deepened and his eyes burned dangerously.  
  
"Also," she pointed up to a window that had opened high on the wall facing them, "That's Abraxious. Wave to him or you'll hurt his feelings." She waved to Abraxious; "He's big and not very smart, but very overprotective of me. Any false moves on your part, and he'll activate the floor protection. Again resulting in severe pain for you."  
  
"Fine," he snapped, still seething with rage, "you've clearly planned ahead. Now what is the point?"  
  
"Besides making you understand that kicking my ass is not an option?"  
  
"Clearly not at this time. Although I'm sure the day will come." He grinned evilly at her.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure, take a number." Though she was doing her best not show it, he was beginning to get to her. He should have been out a lot longer, in fact she was worried she may have given him too much of the sleeping drug. If he could shake it off that quickly, there was no certainty that the security system could hold him.  
  
"No, I will be the first, and if there is anything left after I'm done, the others can have their turn." He told her calmly.  
  
"As much as I live for these insults, I do have things to do, so I will explain the situation. Do us both a favor and sit down before you fall. I would offer you something for your head, but I have a feeling you wouldn't take it."  
  
"I am fine." Vegeta snapped, but still he sat, "Explain yourself, then leave."  
  
"Of course, Your Majesty." She snapped, "As I told your wife."  
  
He was on his feet, "My wife? What the hell have you done to her?"  
  
Amma clutched the remote and glanced up at Abraxious, to make sure he was watching. The rage she had witnessed before was nothing compared to this. "Nothing. She is fine, please sit down or I will be forced to take action." She showed him the remote again. "She and your son are both home and safe. They have nothing to do with any of this and will not be involved. Do you understand?"  
  
He said nothing, but sat down again.  
  
"Thank you." Amma refused to let him see how relieved she was; "You have been retained by the authority of the Intergalactic Council for an investigation of charges of war crimes."  
  
He stared at her blankly.  
  
"Because the crimes in question were committed such a long time ago, you will be given the chance to explain such things as extenuating circumstances. Which I might add, most soldiers from Frieza's army have been released from trial due to the tortures they themselves suffered from Frieza. Normally I would have taken you to the Special Council to plead your case, but your wife convinced me otherwise. Now I am stuck here until I can decide whether to take you to the Tribunal to stand trial or release you. I will leave you now to think of how you will plead your case for release. I will return tomorrow. She rose and started for the door.  
  
"There will be no need."  
  
She stopped and turned to face him, "No need for what?"  
  
"To return tomorrow. You may take me to the Tribunal. I will not try to excuse my actions to you or anyone else."  
  
"You do understand that if the Tribunal finds you guilty of these crimes, you will be put to death? That is why you are being given this option."  
  
"As I've said, take me to the Tribunal, let them decide my fate."  
  
"No, you don't seem to understand the Tribunal won't show you any leniency. Once you are taken before them it's a foregone conclusion that you are guilty. It's a farce of a trial; they will simply list your crimes, and sentence you to death. That is why you are allowed the chance to put a stop to it before you stand before the Tribunal."  
  
"I understand what you are saying, it makes no difference. I will not say it again, take me before the Tribunal."  
  
"I can't do that. I promised your wife I would try to help, even if that means without your cooperation."  
  
"My wife has nothing to do with this, you said that yourself. She doesn't know half as much as she thinks she does." He was becoming angry again.  
  
"For some reason, she feels you are worth saving, even if you don't. I can't in good conscience take you before the Tribunal like this." She stretched her hand out to him, "I can understand you don't want to explain yourself. Take my hand, I will see the truth in your heart, and save your pride."  
  
He stared at her hand for so long, she was beginning to wonder if she had made a mistake.  
  
Abraxious leaned forward to see what was going on. Forgetting the window was there he thumped his head. The sound breaking the spell below.  
  
"I refuse your offer." He turned his back on her.  
  
"Then you will die."  
  
He turned back to her, and stared at her with emotionless eyes, "There are worse things than death." 


	6. Indoor Plumbing

Couple of quick things here: Piccolo- thanks for putting up with all my crap, don't know what I would do without you, dumas. Puar-screw you, hippy. And last but not least Zarbon- it's saga, not saGA. Hope everyone is enjoying the story, as always let me know what you think.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 6 Indoor Plumbing  
  
Bulma paced back and forth across the living room. The woman had said Vegeta should be awake in a few hours and then she would be allowed to see him. It was driving her insane, she needed someone to talk to, but she was told the deal would be off if she told anyone. She couldn't risk it. It's a good thing money is not an issue, she thought, I'm probably going to have to replace the floor by the time this is over. She couldn't think of a damn thing to take her mind off the situation. Luckily Goten had come over and he and Trunks were busy in Trunks' room. At least then she didn't have to explain things to Trunks. She had never thought much about telling Trunks anything about Vegeta's past, he never asked too many questions, and when something did come up, he was always willing to accept the explanation he was given. She glanced at the clock; it had to have been a few hours by now. She was half tempted to storm across the lawn and demand they let her see Vegeta. Instead she went to the kitchen and dug her cigarettes out of their hiding place. She had been so good for the last year, rarely smoking at all, and definitely not where Trunks or Vegeta could see her. Of course, with their saijin sense of smell, they knew when she did, but since it wasn't often, they didn't hassle her about it. She sat at the table and debated on a drink.  
  
The kitchen door opened slowly, and she rose to her feet, anxious for word on Vegeta. Her heart sank when she saw it was Goten. She waved her hand wildly, to brush the smoke from the air and hid the cigarette behind her back. "What are you doing outside?" concern overtaking her as she realized what he could have been doing, "I thought you were in Trunks' room."  
  
He smiled nervously, and scratched the back of his head, "I, um, went out for some fresh air." He stammered.  
  
"How did you get out without my seeing you?" he and Trunks were up to something, she just knew it.  
  
"Hey, Bulma, your back's on fire!" he cried and scrambled off when she turned to try to hide the cigarette.  
  
Bulma growled, put the cigarette out in the sink and stormed up the stairs to find out what the two boys were up to.  
  
Amma reclined in her chair and rolled her neck trying to relieve the tension. She knew it wouldn't be easy to get the saijin prince to tell her the truth about the crimes he was accused of, but she didn't think he could be that stubborn. What kind of idiot refuses to admit they were wrong to save their life? She thought, which only made her headache worse.  
  
"Your mess is cleaned up, Commander Glutton." Sousan announced entering the room without knocking. "In a day or so when that extra layer of fat you were working on kicks in, you can safely hibernate."  
  
"Thanks, Sousan," she answered absently.  
  
Sousan sighed, he had so many good insults ready and she wasn't taking the bait. She was obviously too upset. He came up behind her and started massaging her tense shoulders. "What's the matter? You set yourself up for many insults, I've lost count, and now you're upset so I can't take advantage of the situation. I take it things didn't go well with the prince?"  
  
"That's a bit of an understatement. He refuses to speak, he wants us to take him to the Tribunal."  
  
Sousan shrugged, "So we take him to the Tribunal."  
  
'That's a death sentence and you know it."  
  
"You told him that right?"  
  
"Yes, but it didn't make any difference to him. Hell, I even offered to give him a reading, and make my decision based on what I felt. He turned that down too."  
  
"Screw him then. We have better things to do than beg that arrogant asshole to save his own life."  
  
"That would be my first thought too, except, some asshole had the prince's wife touch me."  
  
"I'm sorry, I thought it would be a joke. I didn't think you would take it so seriously."  
  
"Her emotions were so overwhelming." She shook her head to clear her thoughts; "They made me physically ill. Then like an idiot I promised her I would help."  
  
"You also told her you made no guarantees. If he won't cooperate, there's nothing you can do."  
  
"I can't let this one go." With a sudden grin, she started to the door, "And you're wrong, there is something I can do."  
  
"I shudder to think." His curiosity got the better of him and he asked, "What are you going to do?"  
  
"Talk to his wife."  
  
  
  
"Take Ab with you."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"So if you two start fighting he can come and get me, so I can watch." He grinned at her.  
  
"Fucking pig." She snarled as she left.  
  
Goten and Trunks sat on Trunks' bed close together so they couldn't be overheard. "What was it like in there? Did you see my dad?"  
  
"No, the lady didn't let me see him, but she was going to see him when I left. She was really nice, she even let me eat lots of ice cream." Goten told him.  
  
"Really? She seemed kinda crabby to me." Trunks couldn't imagine the woman he'd seen in the kitchen being nice and giving kids ice cream. "My mom didn't see you come in did she? She'll be mad if she knew you went to the ship."  
  
"Well, she was in the kitchen when I came in and."  
  
"Why didn't you just come in through the window?" he couldn't believe how stupid Goten could be sometimes.  
  
"I didn't think of it. She was in the living room when I left. How was I suppose to know she would go into the kitchen?"  
  
There was a quick knock on the door and Bulma entered, "All right, what are you two up to?"  
  
"Just talking, Mom, that's all." Trunks gave her his most innocent grin.  
  
"Goten, where did you go when you went outside?"  
  
"I, um." he stammered.  
  
"He had to go to the bathroom." Trunks said, quickly.  
  
Bulma sighed, rolling her eyes, "Trunks, I'm not in the mood for this today."  
  
"C'mon, Mom, you know the Sons don't have indoor plumbing." Trunks protested while Goten glared at him, "Goten's afraid of our bathrooms."  
  
"I've had enough of you!" Bulma cried, frustrated, "Now quit lying and tell me the truth."  
  
"I was hungry, so I went to get something to eat." Goten said, quickly. It wasn't a lie, at least not entirely.  
  
"We have plenty of food here, why didn't you just ask?" Bulma didn't believe that was the whole truth.  
  
"Last time I did that, Vegeta got mad, so I thought it was better not to ask."  
  
Bulma watched him for a moment, what he said made sense. After all, Vegeta was never one to share anything, so why would he be different with food. "How did you get back here so."  
  
"Hey, Mom," Trunks interrupted, before she could finish her question, "That lady is coming back."  
  
Forgetting the boys, she hurried downstairs for news about Vegeta.  
  
The moment she was gone, Goten punched Trunks; "We do too have indoor plumbing." 


	7. Planet Me

Here you go, Trunks, told you I would update soon. Hope everyone is enjoying the story, and thanks to everyone who has let me know what they think. I think this chapter is interesting to say the least, and would really like to hear what other people think.  
  
  
  
Chapter 7 Planet Me  
  
Bulma followed Amma down the small dark corridor. There were doors at intervals, but no windows. There were smaller slits in each door, just big enough to slide food to the prisoners. The whole area stunk of urine among other things, and it took everything Bulma had not to be sick. Eyes peered at them through the food slots, and Bulma made the mistake of making eye contact with one of them.  
  
"Hey, Commander, I have something here for you and your friend." A lewd man's voice called.  
  
"Stick it through there and I cut it off." Amma snapped without turning around.  
  
"What about your friend?"  
  
"How about I have Abraxious come in there and kick your ass? Would that help cool you down?"  
  
The food slot slammed shut.  
  
"That's what I thought." Amma muttered, "Keep your eyes on the floor." She commanded Bulma; "You'll only agitate them."  
  
"You have Vegeta down here?"  
  
"In a manner of speaking, he's not only a higher security risk, but royalty, so we have different accommodations for him."  
  
"Cell, you mean, no matter how you try to dress it up, that's what it is."  
  
"Look, if you can't handle this, we'll go back now." She was starting to regret bringing Bulma into the prison, "I'm not going to listen to you whine. You should actually be thanking me because I'm still here, if I'd listened to that idiot husband of yours we would be long gone, and he would be on his way to his death."  
  
"I thought you said there would be a trial."  
  
"The Tribunal's conviction rate is 100%. No one goes before them unless they know the person is guilty. It's a screwed up system, which is why we have the pretrial interviews. That is when people are found innocent. If your husband refuses to defend himself, I have no choice but to hand him over to the Tribunal."  
  
"Even though that means his death?"  
  
"I don't know what reality you're living in, but there is a reason the Council wanted him arrested in the first place. He's not a total innocent in all this. If he can't admit what he did was wrong or at least that he was forced to do the things he did, then yes, I can take him to his death."  
  
"And you'll be okay with that?"  
  
"My feelings are irrelevant. This is my job, I didn't want to be in this situation to begin with, but I'll tell you one thing, I will not lie for him. I'm not telling the Council he told me things he didn't and if that means his death, then so be it." She slammed her hand into the wall and a door opened, "Rise and shine," she growled, "You have a visitor."  
  
"I told you once." Vegeta began, but stopped when he saw Bulma, "What is she doing here?" he asked, his voice dangerous.  
  
"She wanted to talk to you, though I can't imagine why." Amma motioned for Bulma to sit across from Vegeta, pointing to the floor she said; "You can't cross that line."  
  
"You told me you had left her out of this!" Vegeta snarled his eyes narrowed dangerously.  
  
"And I have. She insisted on talking to you."  
  
Vegeta folded his arms across his chest, "Leave, woman, this does not concern you."  
  
"What do you mean this doesn't concern me? Are you really that stupid?" Bulma turned to Amma, pleading, "Could you leave us alone for a minute?"  
  
"No, sorry, can't do that." She moved to the corner of the bench, "I'll sit here real quiet and it will be like I left." She leaned back against the wall, and closed her yes; "I'm not sleeping either so don't try anything funny. Ab's watching too." She pointed to the window and waved.  
  
Bulma looked at Amma for a moment before she turned back to Vegeta, "Don't you understand what will happen if you don't tell them what they ask?"  
  
"I have been informed." He said, coldly.  
  
"And that's it? You don't care?" he voice was rising, "And what about Trunks and me, have you thought of that?"  
  
"I refuse to defend my actions to inferiors."  
  
"What did you say?" Amma demanded, leaping to her feet.  
  
"You were suppose to be quiet." Bulma protested.  
  
Amma ignored Bulma and turned to Vegeta, eyes blazing, and "I think I misheard you I find it hard to believe that a prince of a nonexistent planet could dare to call me an inferior. Would you care to explain that to me? Never presume you know anything about me or anyone in my crew, do you understand? You don't have the first clue what you are dealing with here."  
  
Vegeta smirked; he had touched a nerve, "Then please, enlighten me."  
  
"Vegeta, please," Bulma interrupted, she didn't see this exchange ending well at all.  
  
"I've told you, woman, this does not concern you." He answered coldly, his eyes still on Amma.  
  
"Look at her!" Amma bellowed, "You look at her and tell her none of this matters. You tell her you life means nothing. You look her in the eye and tell her, tell her your pride is more important to you than her and your son. You tell her everything she believes about you is a lie."  
  
Vegeta turned his back on both of them. "You may leave now. I have nothing to say."  
  
"That's it?" Bulma wailed, "You have nothing to say? You have no answers for any of that? I can't believe." her voice tailed off as she felt tears welling in her eyes.  
  
"Come on," Amma said, gently, her hands on Bulma's shoulders as she led her from the room, "Trust me, I think this impending widowhood of yours is the best thing that could happen to you." 


	8. Morning, Sunshine

Appreciate the review, Debido. As for the questions, you're right it would end the story. Look at it along the same lines as why the professor on Gilligan's Island never made a stupid boat, the man made a car out of bamboo, you would think a boat would be easy enough. As for Vegeta not making an escape, there are reasons for that. I have been asked questions along that line from a few people, so maybe I'm being too vague. Of course, that's what reviews are for, isn't it? (Hint, hint). So here's a request: I'd like to hear why you think he's not escaping either email me or post it on the reviews. That will help me to improve my writing in this story and others that I may actually get around to writing one of these days. Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying the story. Ku  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 8 Morning, Sunshine  
  
The rocking of the bed brought Amma out of her dreams. Her sleep-clouded mind couldn't grasp what was happening. She sat up quickly thinking the ship was experiencing turbulence, but instead saw Goten bouncing on the foot of her bed. She groaned and rolled over to look at the clock next to the bed. It was worse than she thought. "Do you know what time it is, kid?"  
  
"You told me to come back."  
  
"I meant at a time when normal people are awake." She pulled her pillow over her head, "Is the sun even up yet?"  
  
"It's been up for hours."  
  
"Are you serious?" she sat, there was no way she was going to be able to get back to sleep. Even is she could she had a feeling Goten wouldn't let her. "How did you get in here anyway?"  
  
"Same way as yesterday, but Mr. Sousan caught me. He told me I should come and wake you up."  
  
"I'll have to have a talk with Mr. Sousan. Hey, kid, since you've woken me up at this ungodly hour, do something useful. Run get me some coffee."  
  
Goten pouted, "I thought you some secret agent stuff for me to do."  
  
"I do. Sneak down to the kitchen and get me some coffee without Mr. Sousan seeing you, how's that?"  
  
"It's not secret agent stuff."  
  
"Give me a break, kid, even secret agents need to sleep." Amma sighed, "Give me ten minutes, and we'll go get something to eat. Just wait here and don't touch anything." She headed for her bathroom.  
  
"Can Trunks come too?"  
  
"Do me a favor, kid, no more talking until I've had coffee." She closed the door so she couldn't hear him anymore. Mornings were not her best time, even when she planned to get up, but this sudden awaking made it worse. She knew Trunks should mean something to her, but she couldn't remember if her life depended on it. It all came crashing back to her when she opened the door. Vegeta's lavender haired son sat on the bed next to Goten, "What part of secret did you not understand?" "I want to see my dad." Trunks told her, folding her arms and lifting his chin in Vegeta like fashion.  
  
"No one is doing anything until I've had my coffee, after that we'll talk about your dad." Amma stalled, she hadn't planned on this, "Follow me, don't touch anything, and don't wander off."  
  
Sousan was waiting for her in the kitchen grinning, "Oh, look everyone here comes our own little ray of sunshine," he told Res, Honos, and Aescapulus who were sitting at the table, "You're up early."  
  
She glared at him and the snickering shoulders, "Coffee now."  
  
He handed her the cup he was holding, then noticed the two boys trailing behind her, "What are you doing opening a day care?"  
  
"Apparently they multiply at night." She told him sipping her coffee.  
  
Sousan pulled her away from the boys; "Do you really think having kids here is a good idea? Is this some plan or just some bizarre maternal thing you've got going?"  
  
She smacked him in the head, "It's suppose to help me decide what to do with the Saijin no Ouji."  
  
"This should be stunning. How?"  
  
"I'm still working on it, okay?" she turned away from him and faced the table, "I heard you're slipping, Honos. Narok wasn't in the infirmary even one night."  
  
"There was something wrong with him to begin with." Honos shrugged, "I figured it would be better to send him to Aescapulus and let you deal with him later."  
  
"There's always been something wrong with him."  
  
"This was worse than usual."  
  
"Aescapulus?" she turned to the doctor with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"There was nothing wrong with him." He almost sounded disappointed; "If I would have known it would be this boring I never would have agreed to come."  
  
"Why would you have thought it would be any different?" Amma asked, motioning the boys to the table.  
  
"Please, if you weren't constantly kicking ass, why would Bridget be so tired after you return from missions?" For a moment the only sound that could be heard was Goten chewing. The doctor looked around the room, puzzled.  
  
"It's not so much her skills as a doctor, as her skills at playing doctor that wear her out, eh, Sousan?" Res asked.  
  
"It has been a much quieter trip." Amma smirked.  
  
Sousan's eyes darkened, "Before this conversation goes any farther into the gutter, I would like to point out there are children in the room."  
  
"How do you think they got here?" Honos shrugged.  
  
"You have to excuse him," Amma told the others, "He's a little tense lately."  
  
"I think frustrated is the word you're looking for." Res pointed out.  
  
"I think your job is going to get a hell of a lot more interesting, Aescapulus." Sousan told him moving toward the table.  
  
Bulma hadn't slept well. She had done her best to hide things from Trunks, how could she tell him what was going on. He had bombarded her with questions when she finally returned. Luckily, she had been allowed to stay on the ship long enough to pull herself together before she came home. There would have been no way to lie to Trunks with tears streaming down her face. She couldn't even speak without sobbing once she was out of the prison, and even then she was surprised she had held it together that long. How could he keep silent after all those accusations, she wondered, there has to be a mistake. He hadn't even looked at her. She would have been able to see something in his eyes if he had. After all this time, she had started to believe he did care. He wasn't one to talk about his feelings, but she thought she knew. Maybe everyone was right about him all along. How could I have been so stupid? What made it even worse, was that there was no one to talk to about it, she was alone. If only she could talk to someone, someone who would listen and help her sort her feelings out about this whole situation, but it had been made clear to her that she wasn't allowed to tell anyone what was going on. What am I thinking? Vegeta doesn't care, why should I protect him? Her mind made up she went downstairs to the phone. She would call Goku. His positive attitude and inherent belief in the good in everyone would cheer her up at the very least, if not help her sort through all this.  
  
Unfortunately, Chichi was the one who answered the phone.  
  
Trunks glared at Amma and Sousan, "Why is my dad here?"  
  
Amma exchanged a glance with Sousan. This kid was beginning to annoy them. Which especially in Sousan's case was not a good idea. Amma knew he was ready for fight after the earlier conversation, but the others had fled before it was possible. "Look, kid, you need to talk to your mom about that." She told him, there was no way she was going to tell this kid about his father's past.  
  
"Why would I have to ask her? You know."  
  
Sousan's patience was long gone, and child or not, he was ready to knock the kid across the room. He took a step forward, but Amma stopped him with a hand on his arm, "Because it's for your mom to tell you not us."  
  
"Then let me go see him."  
  
"I told you that's not possible."  
  
"Why not? You took my mom to see him yesterday."  
  
"He doesn't want to see you!" Sousan's voice was loud and sudden in the room. Everyone froze and even Trunks couldn't think of anything to say.  
  
As true as the statement was, Amma wished Sousan had shown some compassion before blurting it out the way he did.  
  
"Why would Trunks' dad not want to see him?" Goten asked, quietly with sadness in his voice.  
  
"I think the best thing would be if you two went home. Talk to your mother, Trunks, okay? After you do that, we'll see what we can do."  
  
The door suddenly burst open and Narok stormed in, "Why are we still here? We were supposed to leave and deliver the Saijin no Ouji to the Tribunal."  
  
"Are you questioning me?" Amma demanded.  
  
"Yes, I would hate to have to go to the Council and tell them about your blatant disregard for orders."  
  
"You two better leave now." Amma told the boys, "Go on home?"  
  
"Why?" Goten asked.  
  
"You ever heard of 'grown folk business'?"  
  
"No, what does that mean?"  
  
"It means it's none of your business. Go on home."  
  
"C'mon, Goten," Trunks said, pulling him by the arm, "She's probably going to kick his ass like she did yesterday."  
  
Narok's face darkened.  
  
"The boy's right," Sousan grinned, "You're certainly asking for a good ass kicking."  
  
"As for going to the Council, be my guest," Amma smiled evilly; " they are the ones who told me to stay. Do you question their authority too?"  
  
"You're all fools," Narok hissed, "You have no clue how dangerous that man is."  
  
"Maybe we are underestimating him." Amma cast a glance at Sousan.  
  
"Much the same way Narok is underestimating us, you think?" they looked at each other a moment and then turned back to Narok.  
  
"You will regret letting him live." Narok turned on his heel and left the room.  
  
"Do you know what that was about?" Amma asked after he was gone.  
  
"Inferiority complex?" Sousan shrugged.  
  
"Goku?" Chichi shrilled, "Of course, he's not here, he's off training. How much training does one person need? He is the strongest man in the universe, it's not like your husband who has something to prove."  
  
Bulma bit her tongue, regretting her decision to call in the first place, she should have know Goku wouldn't be home anyway, and she really didn't need to listen to Chichi bitch. "I'm sorry, Chichi, it sounds like you're busy. So maybe I'll try later or something." All she wanted to do was get away from that shrill voice.  
  
"Wait minute." Chichi sounded suspicious. "Why didn't you just send Trunks out here? You know how Goku hates the phone. Something's going on isn't it? If you think I'm going to let you drag my Goku off to who knows where just after he finally came back, you're sadly mistaken. You don't know what it's like to have your husband gone for seven years, do you? If you think."  
  
Bulma stopped listening. She wanted to just hang up, but knew that would only make it worse. Over the years, she, like everyone else had developed a way to deal with Chichi's tirades. Trunks and Goten coming across the lawn distracted her attention and the phone was forgotten. Trunks seemed angry and Goten appeared to be trying to comfort him.  
  
".doesn't mean it's true." Goten was saying.  
  
"Just shut up, Goten." Trunks snapped, and Bulma could see tears he refused to shed gathering in his eyes.  
  
"What happened? Were you two at the ship?" Bulma demanded, "I told you not to go there. They are dangerous people, and you need to stay away from them."  
  
"Bulma?" Chichi's voice shrilled in her ear, "What's going on over there? What kind of trouble are those boys in now?"  
  
"They told Trunks his dad didn't want to see him, and he's upset." Goten told her.  
  
"I told you I don't care." Trunks shouted defiantly.  
  
"You can't believe everything they say." Bulma told him, although she knew it was probably true, Trunks didn't need to know that.  
  
"Who are you talking about? Bulma." Chichi tried again.  
  
"It's nothing, Chichi. I have to go."  
  
"Oh, no you don't! If Goten is over there and something is going on I have a right to know."  
  
"It's nothing really." Bulma realized she didn't sound convincing and knew she was in trouble.  
  
"That's it! I'm coming over!" the phone went dead.  
  
"Shit." Bulma muttered.  
  
"What's wrong?" Goten asked.  
  
"Your mother is coming over." 


	9. Never a Dull Moment

I'm posting this for my new best friend, Puar. You just ask me if you have any questions, that way you don't have to talk to the crabby guy anymore. Keep your fingers crossed, I may have a new story within the next two weeks if not sooner. Hope everyone likes this chapter.  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 9 Never A Dull Moment  
  
Bulma knew she didn't have much time. Chichi was on the warpath, and it didn't matter that she had no clue what was going on. It had never mattered before, why should it matter now? She was hoping that maybe she could end this all, it would most likely be her last chance. Once Chichi barged into the situation, it would be the end for the worst. They would have to let her see Vegeta, after all this could very well be the last time. She couldn't think of that right now, it was too much to deal with. It wasn't until she was standing in front of Amma, that she realized Trunks and Goten had followed her.  
  
Amma wanted to scream this was not going the way she had planned. In fact, at this point she couldn't remember what she had planned. "Does no one here know what the word secret means?"  
  
"Maybe you're not using the right word." Sousan told her.  
  
"I'll look it up, it could be wrong. You gave me the translation dictionary, who knows what I'm saying."  
  
"You are using the right word, but it's gone past that point now." Bulma told her, "I need to see Vegeta now."  
  
"If I thought it would make a bit of difference I would let you see him." Amma told her, "But I think we both know he made it pretty clear that he didn't want to see you. Why would you think that's going to change?"  
  
"I don't, but then again I have to give it one more try before it's too late."  
  
Something was not right about the whole situation, Amma knew, but she supposed it couldn't hurt to let her try and talk some sense into him. It might actually save Amma trouble in the long run. "Sousan, you keep the boys up here. Send Ab down for me."  
  
"What the hell am I supposed to do with these two?" Sousan demanded, "I don't deal well with kids."  
  
"You don't deal well with anyone, yet somehow you manage."  
  
"I'm not staying with him!" Trunks cried, "If my mom's going so am I."  
  
"No!" both Bulma and Amma snapped.  
  
"Please, Trunks," Bulma tried, "Just wait here. I promise this will all be over soon." One way or another, she thought worriedly.  
  
"All right, you two." Sousan said, as the women left, "Sit down, shut up, and don't move, I'm not a patient person, so don't fuck with me." He sat across from them and stared hard, waiting for either of them to move.  
  
"Look, I'm not sure what brought about this sudden change, but I'll tell you now, I don't want you upset when things don't work out the way you plan." Amma told her as they stood outside the door to Vegeta's cell, "Your son is up there, and I don't want to deal with the scene of you returning to your son in tears, do you understand?"  
  
Bulma knew there was no way she could guarantee that she would not be upset, but she thought it best to agree, so she simply nodded.  
  
Amma reluctantly opened the door to Vegeta's cell. He was stretched out on his bed, arms folded behind his head. He continued to stare at the ceiling, refusing to acknowledge anyone had entered. Amma cast a quick glance to be sure Ab was in the observation room before she said, "Your wife has insisted on seeing you, Your Highness." She took a seat and waited.  
  
"Vegeta?" Bulma called softly, "I know you can hear me." She said when he refused to turn and look at her. "You have to end this."  
  
"I have. As I've already told you I've made my decision. Why that stupid woman over there hasn't taken me to her Tribunal yet is beyond me." He still refused to look at her.  
  
"Because, like me, she realizes what a mistake you're making."  
  
"You can believe what you want. Neither of you knows what you are asking."  
  
"Then enlighten us." Bulma was losing her patience, and with it what little control of her anger she had left.  
  
"I've told you before, I will not justify my actions to those inferior to me. You want to believe that foolish emotions can change all this? You should know emotions are for the weak."  
  
"You are so blind. You think your emotions make you weak? Yes, you have them even if you refuse to admit them. You may be able to fool everyone else, but you can't fool me."  
  
Vegeta refused to respond. The only sign that he had heard her words, was the slight twitch in his cheek.  
  
Amma leaned forward; this could be the break she needed. Bulma was getting to him that was obvious.  
  
"You know what your true weakness is?"  
  
He turned to face her, his eyes dark, and narrowed dangerously, "Enlighten me, woman, with your superior wisdom." He snapped sarcastically.  
  
"Your pride." She spat out at him, "That's your excuse for everything. You hide behind it like a shield. That is supposed to protect you from everything. You're such a fool you can't even see it for what it is. You call it pride, but in truth, it's your weakness and fear." She turned to Amma. "I'm ready to leave. Do with him as you wish, a weakling like him isn't worthy of me or my son."  
  
Amma realized the mistake before Bulma, and was quick enough to push her out of the way of the ki blast Vegeta sent at where Bulma had stood. The blast grazed Amma's back, just enough for her to feel the heat of it. Before he had the chance to send another one, she pushed a button on the remote she carried. She watched as Vegeta fell to the floor writhing in pain. I was wrong, she thought, and a stab of fear accompanied that thought. He had tried to kill his wife, what would he do to the rest of them. Maybe Norak was right.  
  
"No!" Bulma wailed, rushing forward to grab Amma's arm, she couldn't bear the pain the other woman was causing Vegeta.  
  
The fear and pain Bulma was feeling flooded through her, and Amma shove her away, hard, "I told you not to touch me!"  
  
Vegeta's growl startled Amma. He was on his feet, and though his face was contorted in pain, there was a burning anger in his eyes as he looked over at Bulma where she lay in a heap. He staggered forward, hands reaching for Amma's throat.  
  
"You may want to kill me." Amma told him as bravely as she could, "but the minute you touch me, I will know the truth."  
  
"That is fine." He rasped, "The moment after that, I will snap your neck and it will not matter."  
  
An ungodly roar shook the room, and glass from the observation window suddenly showered the room, followed by Abraxious. No sooner than his feet hit the floor, than he had grasped Vegeta by the throat and flung him across the room. Still growling and snarling, he started toward him to finish what he had started.  
  
Bulma peered up from under the arm she had been covering her head with and screamed.  
  
Abraxious' head whipped around at the new sound and he started toward her.  
  
"Amma!" Sousan's voice tinged with panic came through the door, "Are you all right?" The door burst open and he barreled into the room, closely followed by Trunks and Goten. "Mom!" Trunks wailed starting toward her, then spun on Amma, "What did you do to my mom?"  
  
Amma clung tightly to Abraxious' arm, trying to hold him back, "Get them out of here!" she screamed. She tried planting her feet to hold the giant back before he could hurt anyone else.  
  
"Out, now!" Sousan cried in a voice that left no room to disobey. He grabbed Bulma by the arm and before she could protest, dragged her from the room behind the boys.  
  
The moment the door had closed. Abraxious quieted. Forgetting about Vegeta, he listened to Amma's soft voice and she spoke soothingly to him. In a few moments, he seemed to come back to himself, and looked around puzzled.  
  
"It's all right." Amma told him, suddenly exhausted, "Go to your room and get some rest."  
  
Still confused, Abraxious shuffled off to his room.  
  
Amma slumped against the wall, trying to gather herself before she even tried to figure out what had just happened. After a quick check to be sure Vegeta was still alive, she called in Res and Honos to clean up the mess before the prince regained consciousness. She could tell they wanted to ask what had happened, but kept quiet. With a deep breath, she headed up to the main ship. 


	10. Are You Talking?

Here's another chapter. Piccolo is hassling me to start another one, actually two different stories, so in a week or so I may have another one to post. Also, Piccolo is doing some art for this story, which he says should be finished by next weekend. I'm not sure where we will post those though, since we don't have the website up and running yet. If anyone is interested in seeing them when they are done, email and let me know. Hope everyone is enjoying the story.  
  
  
  
Chapter 10 Are You Talking?  
  
"What the hell happened down there?" Sousan demanded as Amma entered, "Half the controls on this ship are gone. All we have left is the security systems and minimum life support."  
  
"What?' she sat down hard, after the incident in the prison she was too tired to deal with anything else.  
  
"That's why I was originally coming down there, then I heard all the noise. What the hell happened?"  
  
"Ab must have done something to the electronics when he came through the window." At least that made sense.  
  
"Did he." Bulma began, but couldn't finish.  
  
"No, your husband is fine, heavily sedated, but fine. Although I don't see why you would be worried about him after what happened." Amma snapped, turning to show Bulma her back, "This was meant for you, my dear."  
  
"Are you all right?" Sousan asked, shaking his head, he couldn't believe she had lost control of the situation so badly.  
  
Amma waved him off, "The blast just grazed me, I'm fine."  
  
"If he was really trying to hurt me, you'd be dead." Bulma told her, "He was just trying to get me to shut up."  
  
"We have to get out of here." Amma told Sousan, "This whole planet is insane."  
  
"We can't until the ship is fixed." He reminded her.  
  
"That's another thing, how are we going to do that? We don't have a mechanic in the crew. As I remember I wanted to bring Pheastus, but no, you said we wouldn't have to worry about damage to the ship."  
  
"I didn't want Pheas to come along because he's nothing but a distraction to you. Also, the ship wouldn't have needed repairs if you hadn't gotten Ab all worked up. You know how he gets, I can't believe you would risk that."  
  
"Did you forget the only reason we are still here in the first place is because of you? We could be half way to the rendezvous point by now, but no, you had to pick this time and place to start with your stupid games."  
  
"I'll admit, maybe I didn't go about this the right way, but ultimately I did it for you. I know how you felt about this mission from the start and I didn't see it getting any better for you. If you weren't so damn stubborn I would have suggested it myself, but I knew you wouldn't listen."  
  
Amma was shocked by his admission, and for a moment couldn't find any words, "I have no response to that."  
  
"It doesn't require one. It was simply a statement." He said more calmly, "Now instead of worrying about all that, maybe we should try and figure out how we are going to get the ship fixed."  
  
"I can help with that." Bulma told them.  
  
"This is not Earth technology, I'm sure you can't." Sousan told her.  
  
"I'm a scientist, you know." Bulma huffed, "Apparently."  
  
An angry voice cut through the ship, "Goten?"  
  
"Oh, shit, its Chichi." Bulma muttered.  
  
"You know I don't care who the fuck it is." Amma stormed, "I would just like to know how the fuck everyone keeps getting on this ship."  
  
"She's Goten's mother." Bulma explained.  
  
"Wonderful. We'll have a family reunion." Amma snapped sarcastically, "Where are those two anyway?"  
  
"We sent them to the kitchen." Sousan told her refusing to look at her.  
  
"This time it's your responsibility, I take no credit for it at all."  
  
"Bulma!" Chichi fumed, bursting into the room, "Where is Goten?"  
  
"He's fine, Chichi," Bulma tried soothing her, "He's in the kitchen with Trunks getting something to eat."  
  
Chichi appeared to run out of steam for a moment. She looked thoughtful and then shrilled, "Someone better tell me what is going on here. I want to know what these people have been doing to my son."  
  
"Besides feeding him, not a damn thing." Amma snapped. Sousan was covering his ears, doing his best not to rush across the room and knock the shrieking woman's head from her shoulders. Amma rose quickly, "Sousan, why don't you and Bulma go and check on the boys I'll explain things to Chichi." Sousan fled from the room, while Bulma left more slowly, looking nervously between Chichi and Amma.  
  
Chichi stood with her hands on her hips, "Well?" she demanded.  
  
"First of all, lady, do us both a favor and stop shrieking like that. It'll make everything that much easier. I'm having a really bad day, and I'd hate to have to take it out on you."  
  
Sousan found Amma face down on her bed. "Go away." She called as he entered, not bothering to look, "I'm tired and that horrible harpy gave me a headache."  
  
"You and me both and I didn't talk to her for half an hour." Sousan sat on the bed next to her.  
  
"Talk to her? No, I didn't talk to her. I sat there and tried to tone out her squawking. Bitch, bitch, bitch, she was worse than you."  
  
Sousan snorted, and leaned back, resting his head on the small of her back, "Sucks to be you."  
  
"Yes, yes, it does." She sighed, "You know, I thought maybe if I touched her I could figure out what she was all about. All I could feel was anger and bitterness, then underneath there was sadness and loneliness, and I actually started to feel bad for her. Then she started talking and that was the end of that."  
  
"So what could she talk about for half an hour?"  
  
Amma groaned, "She bitched about her husband and how he was gone for years and years. Goten had told me about that, now I can understand why he stayed gone. She talked about how Vegeta wasn't like her husband, and then she bitched about Bulma for a while. You know how she didn't realize how good she had it and things like that."  
  
"Speaking of that." Sousan cut in; "She talked me into letting her have a look at the ship tomorrow. She seems to think she can figure out what's wrong. She has this old boyfriend who can work on it if she figures it out. I didn't pay much attention, you know, boring mundane stuff, no sex or violence, so I just agreed with her and let it go."  
  
"That's how you get into trouble."  
  
"You're one to talk. You spend all that time with that harpy and don't find out anything useful."  
  
"I realized Goten must take after his father. That's useful, isn't it? One of these days I'll have to talk to him. If nothing else it could be amusing to find out why his wife is so bitter, angry, and jealous." Amma suddenly rolled over, spilling Sousan off her back, "I am so stupid!"  
  
"And rude, you could have told me you were getting up."  
  
"She said something about loyalty, but since I wasn't paying attention, it didn't make any sense. I get it now, this all makes sense I can't believe how stupid I am."  
  
"Are you going to let me in on this sudden epiphany of yours?"  
  
She leaped off the bed; "I have to talk to Vegeta."  
  
"Are you insane? After what happened today, you plan on going down there again?"  
  
"Come with. I don't want to bother Ab, you know he'll be out for a while. Plus that way I won't have to go into lengthy explanations." She nearly ran from the room.  
  
Sousan remained on the bed staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out why he put up with her. He gave up when he heard her yelling for him and followed her down to the prison. 


	11. Teasing the Gorilla in the Monkey Cage

Here's the next chapter, sorry it took so long, I was -------(insert an excuse you will find acceptable here). Actually, I've had this chapter done for a while now and just haven't gotten around to posting it. I'll try to start posting weekly, or else I'll put up a chapter after each review I get. I do have this story done by the way, eight more chapters after this.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 11 Teasing the Gorilla in the Monkey Cage  
  
"Good you're finally awake." Amma said as she saw Vegeta open his eyes.  
  
He sat up quickly looking around the room, trying to piece together what had happened. The room looked as it always had, and if not for the pain in his throat he would have thought it had been a dream. He glared over at Amma who sat perched on the bench across from him, watching him smugly.  
  
"What." he began, his eyes narrowing dangerously as an idea occurred to him.  
  
Amma smiled evilly, "We did all sorts of things to you while you were out. Wait until you see the pictures."  
  
He rose to his feet, somewhat unsteadyily, "I will take great pleasure in killing you."  
  
"No, you won't. I was only kidding about the whole thing. Wish I had thought of it earlier," she mused, thoughtfully. She shook her head to clear her thoughts; "I didn't even touch you, thought I was real tempted to. Then I realized that would be cheating, and I couldn't do that. I mean I can't just go digging through people's minds whenever I want. Well, I can, but that would be wrong."  
  
"Your sense of honor is admirable." He sneered sarcastically.  
  
"And you're an asshole, so I guess that makes us even."  
  
He sat on the bed, folding his arms over his chest, "How is your back?" there was an evil glint in his eye.  
  
"Fine, thanks. See I was actually starting to think I might be wrong about you after that little incident. Then I realized you could have easily killed us, but you didn't. In fact, I have a feeling that was all for show. I'm impressed that you trusted me enough to save your wife, to be honest."  
  
"Any more stunning wisdom you would like to share?"  
  
"No, that's about it." She shrugged, "Though I am sorry."  
  
"For?" He found himself dreading the answer for some reason.  
  
"That I didn't realize all that earlier. I would have controlled my own strength then."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"If I had known you weren't seriously trying to kill us all, I would have been more careful with your wife. I was more concerned about stopping you, so when she grabbed me."  
  
Vegeta's face remained blank, but there was a twitch in his eye.  
  
"The doctor isn't sure if she will make a full recovery yet or not. She is strong, so that should help." She shrugged, "At least I didn't kill her right off, I hate it when that happens." If she hadn't been watching his eyes, she would have missed the look that flashed through them. She wasn't sure if it was sorrow or regret, maybe both, but it didn't last long.  
  
"I've had enough of your games." He snapped, slowly standing, "Get to the point or."  
  
"Or what? You're not anywhere near your full strength, and we won't allow that to happen anytime soon. Besides, I'm having way too much fun to stop now." She smiled at him, "Wait until I tell your wife."  
  
"What?" he was on his feet, trying to keep his composure.  
  
"She's fine. I just made it up to see the look on your face." She could feel the energy building in the room, and knew he was preparing to attack. Sousan must have felt the same thing because he hit the floor restraints. The jolt knocked Vegeta off his feet, and it took him a few moments to regain his bearings.  
  
Amma grabbed the radio at her waist, "Damn it, Sousan, what's wrong with you? I'm busy here."  
  
"In case you haven't noticed he was going to hurt you, dumb ass." Sousan's voice was frustrated, " Next time I'll let him fry your ass then and be done with you."  
  
"I'm trying to make a point here, and you're not helping," she snapped.  
  
"Then make your point and quit fucking with me." Vegeta rasped, resting on his bed, rubbing his hand over his face.  
  
"You two are no fun." She pouted for a moment, "Fine, I suppose this is starting to border on torture. I get carried away sometimes."  
  
"Sometimes?" Sousan asked over the radio.  
  
"Shut up." She snapped, shutting the radio off before he could say anything else. "You can't hide your emotions like you thought, well, at least if someone knows what to look for."  
  
"Am I suppose to commend you on your genius, or do you like the sound of your own voice?" he asked, tiredly.  
  
"Like you would commend me on my genius." She snorted.  
  
"If you had any."  
  
"Do you want me to get to the point or would you prefer to insult me?"  
  
"Is there a point?"  
  
"No, I came in here for your warm, sunny personality." She said sarcastically, "I could easily send you to the Tribunal, but I know that would be wrong. The problem is I can't go on my gut feelings with this, if I was wrong."  
  
"You are wrong." He answered flatly.  
  
"Prove it," she snapped, holding her hand out to him again.  
  
He snorted, turning his back on her.  
  
"See? That's what makes me doubt you. If it was so easy to prove how awful you are you would do it, but just the fact that you won't makes me doubt you. I can't take someone who is innocent before the Tribunal in good conscience."  
  
"I'm not innocent."  
  
"No one is," she shrugged.  
  
He turned toward her surprised.  
  
"Does that shock you? There are degrees of guilt, I know that better than anyone." She turned away, lost in private thoughts. She turned back to him with a smile, "So I have a proposal for you. You won't admit you are not what the Council accuses you off, and I won't take you to the Tribunal without proof of guilt."  
  
"I believe we've already been over this."  
  
"I was restating the facts, okay? So here's my deal, I suggest we make a wager."  
  
Sousan was banging on the window, and when Amma refused to turn on her radio, he said over the loud speaker, "Don't encourage her, please, you don't know what you're getting yourself into."  
  
"What is the wager?" Vegeta asked, a smirk crossing his lips.  
  
"If I can find out what I need to know, then I win, you have to admit you were wrong. Plus I get to taunt you for a while." She grinned, "I'm easily amused, sorry."  
  
He rolled his eyes, "And if I win?"  
  
"Well, if you can hold out and keep me from finding out what I want to know, then you die. Which is what you said you wanted, plus I'll let you kick my ass once before you are killed."  
  
"Hmm."  
  
"Can't kill me though." She told him quickly, seeing the look in his eyes.  
  
"Forget it then."  
  
"C'mon, you can break some bones. Broken ribs really hurt." She smiled, "You know you want to."  
  
He actually smiled, which frightened her. "You realize you won't win a battle of wills against me."  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Is it a deal?"  
  
"As long as punctured lungs are acceptable."  
  
"Sure, I don't mind spitting up blood for a while." She held out her hand, "Shake on it?"  
  
"Nice try." He growled and turned his back on her.  
  
Sousan hid his head in his hands; "This will not end well." 


	12. Trying to Play a Game Here

Another chapter. Not sure if I'm entirely happy, but I'll probably rewrite the whole thing again over Christmas break. Anyway, Piccolo has done sketches and if I leave him alone and quit giving him more crap to do, we may just get them posted soon. If anyone's interested email me and let me know.  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 12 Trying to Play a Game Here  
  
It had not been a good night for Amma. The whole wager thing had seemed like a good idea at the time, but after hours of listening to Sousan tell her how stupid she had been, she wasn't so sure anymore. Should have made the wager before I lied about his wife, she berated herself, now he won't believe anything I say. She wondered how long it would be before someone would come looking for her. Sousan always doubted her meditation to begin with, thinking she was just hiding out to avoid everyone. While that was part of it, she did need to focus her thoughts. She was so focused on her thoughts and motions that she didn't hear anyone enter.  
  
Goten opened his mouth to call out a greeting, but Yamcha quickly clamped his hand over the boy's mouth. He wasn't sure what to expect when he was sent to talk to the commander of the ship, but the sight before him was not it. He wasn't sure what she was doing, but it was beautiful to watch, and somehow sensual. She slowly stretched into the flips across the room, seemingly unaware of her surroundings until she nearly reached the wall. Without opening her eyes, she turned and began to work her way back across the room towards them, must faster this time.  
  
"That is so cool." Goten said, just before she reached him.  
  
Amma's eyes snapped open and she realized her momentum would cause her to kick him in the head. In the effort to try to stop herself, she lost her balance and fell, hard.  
  
Yamcha blushed, trying to think of what to say to explain why they hadn't announced their presence immediately.  
  
"Ow, kid, that hurt!" Amma cried, "Why didn't you knock instead of coming in like that. Didn't Sousan tell you I was meditating?"  
  
She thought they had just walked in, Yamcha realized relieved, though that was short lived as Goten blurted out, "I would have said something earlier, but Yamcha wouldn't let me."  
  
Amma turned, and looked at Yamcha for the first time for her position on the floor, "He wouldn't, huh?"  
  
"Well, I, uh." he stammered, moving forward as though to help her up, flushing darker with each step.  
  
"Give me a hand here, kid." Amma stretched her hand out to Goten so he could help her up, "I would guess you're actually here to fix the ship, not spy on me. "  
  
"Why would he do that?" Goten asked.  
  
"You'll understand when you're older," Amma laughed, ruffling his hair.  
  
"Yeah," Yamcha was more than happy to change the subject, "Bulma gave me some ideas what to look for, so I can get started any time you want."  
  
"Hey, kid, why don't you go find Sousan and see about tormenting him for a while. Yamcha and I are going to work on fixing the ship." She motioned for Yamcha to follow as she left the room.  
  
Goten pouted, "He's no fun, he gets mad too easy."  
  
"Wow, this is really messed up." Yamcha said, staring at the shorted wires, "How did this happen?"  
  
"It was a little crazy around here yesterday. There was a." she paused trying to think of how to phrase it, "a thing." She finally shrugged, taking a seat on the floor to watch him.  
  
"Can't think of a word?"  
  
"I don't think there is a single word to describe it in either of our languages." She laughed.  
  
He looked at her for a moment, then turned back to the control panel, muttering, "I'm sure it had something to do with Vegeta."  
  
"Why would you say that?"  
  
"He's an asshole." He snarled.  
  
"True, can't argue with that, but does that mean everything is his fault?"  
  
Yamcha didn't answer.  
  
"Didn't you used to go out with his wife at one time?"  
  
"They're not married," he snapped, "Vegeta doesn't believe in 'worthless human rituals'. Everyone else just refers to them as husband and wife."  
  
"I didn't know that, but then you're still not answering the question."  
  
"Yeah, a long time ago, when we were kids." He shrugged, trying to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal, but not succeeding.  
  
"So what happened?"  
  
He shrugged, "You know how things go." He wished she would change the subject, there was something about the way she was asking her questions that felt like an inquisition.  
  
"There was a thing?" she asked with a chuckle.  
  
"Now you're making the whole thing sound stupid." He snapped. It was still hard enough for him to understand exactly what had happened, much less explain it to someone else. Amma trivializing the whole situation just made him angry, "I would have married her."  
  
"So why didn't you?"  
  
He didn't have an answer to that one, so instead of trying to make something up, he busied himself with the wires.  
  
It took Amma a moment to realize his cursing had nothing to do with her question. He was having problems with the wires, which while it gave him a distraction from her questions; it was pissing him off. She pushed herself to her feet and grabbed one of the tools at his feet. "Try this."  
  
"Thanks. I thought you didn't know anything about electronics."  
  
She grinned, "I don't I've just helped fix this thing enough times I have an idea of what should be done."  
  
"Then why I am I here?"  
  
"To be sure the ship is properly fixed, so we can take your rival to his death? Would you like that?"  
  
That was a good question, he thought. After all these years, was that what he really wanted? There was a time when the answer would have been yes, but now. He opened his mouth to answer, not sure what he was going to say but was interrupted by a voice from down the corridor.  
  
"Commander!" Norak's voice was more insistent this time.  
  
Amma's face darkened, "Excuse me, I have to break someone's neck." She touched his hand quickly before she stormed down the corridor. Still trying to sort through the feelings she had picked up from Yamcha, she confronted Norak at the end of the corridor.  
  
Norak stood at the end of the corridor regarding her smugly as she stopped in front of him, "I have a message for you from the Council."  
  
"And why would you have the message for me? Why didn't they contact me directly?" she sneered.  
  
"They asked me to relay it to you when I contacted them about the repairs needed on the ship."  
  
"Who the fuck asked you to do that?" she thundered.  
  
"I took it upon myself to try and salvage this mission. Your judgement has become unsound, and I've relayed that to the Council. The reinforcements should arrive in a few hours." The pleasure he hoped to have in her anger and frustration was short lived.  
  
"Perhaps you're right." She told him calmly, "When the reinforcements arrive, you can make a full report of what has been happening here."  
  
He gaped at her in shock; he had expected a fight at the very least. With his guard down, the blow to his jaw was totally unexpected.  
  
Amma grinned at the popping sound, "Or you can spend the next few days in the infirmary getting that dislocated jaw fixed." She stepped over the moaning heap, before she turned back to Yamcha was watched the whole thing open-mouthed, "You'll have to excuse me for a moment, I have some business to attend to."  
  
"Yeah, sure." He quickly turned back to the repairs. 


	13. Useless, Unreliable, and No Good

I'm posting this one for Tina Lang. Not only did you send a review, but a review for both sites! How can I not post another chapter after that. I did think of throwing a little lemon in here (I didn't,) but maybe if anyone's interested maybe I'll do add it when I do the rewrite, who knows. Then again, I have three other projects going now, so it will probably have to wait. Thanks again, Tina, enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 13 Useless, Unreliable, and No Good  
  
Goten perched on the back of the couch peering over Amma's shoulder as she scribbled on a paper. He didn't understand what she was doing, supposedly taking notes on what the soldier in front of them was saying, but to him it looked like she was drawing pictures. It was no wonder she was bored, the solider just kept talking, and if it weren't for trying to figure out what the pictures she was drawing were of, Goten would have fallen asleep.  
  
Honos' voice droned on and on, status reports on the ship, the prisoners, and all the mundane things that Amma hated. She knew what was going on as well as anyone, and didn't have the patience to sit through the list again. She had really tried to pay attention, even had a few scribbled notes to prove it, but her mind had quickly wandered. No one would ever accuse her of being an artist, but at least it looked like she was taking notes, and it kept Goten from interrupting, not that she would have minded that. She couldn't figure out why the kid would want to hang around the ship, but he wouldn't leave earlier when they had tried to shoo him away. At least he made her laugh that was something.  
  
Sousan wandered in, a smirk across his face, and Amma guessed he must have heard what happened with Norak. Honos stopped talking, but Amma waved for him to continue, the sooner this was over the better. Sousan threw himself on the couch next to Amma and motioned for her pen, and quickly sketched a warrior holding a decapitated head. Amma was forced to clamp her hand over her mouth to keep back her laughter.  
  
"Someone's coming." Goten whispered in her ear, saving her from insulting Honos more.  
  
"That will be all for now," she quickly dismissed Honos, and turned to Goten, "What do you mean?"  
  
"I can hear someone walking around the ship, it's different. There's something wrong with the way they're walking."  
  
Sousan looked skeptical, "How would you know?"  
  
"Saijins have better hearing." Amma told him.  
  
"So do dogs." Sousan muttered, earning him a smack in the head from Amma.  
  
"They're coming this way." Goten told them, tilting his head as though to hear better.  
  
"Just one?" Amma asked, reinforcements were supposed to be arriving anytime, but she didn't think there would be only one.  
  
Goten nodded, but by that time the footsteps were close enough for Sousan and Amma to hear. The rhythmic step, drag, was familiar to both of them. Sousan groaned flopping back on the couch, but Amma stood and waited.  
  
"Useless, unreliable, and no good." The voice came drifting toward them before the speaker was in sight.  
  
"Don't talk about the ship like that." Amma snapped.  
  
"I wasn't," the man appeared in the doorway, "I was talking about Sousan."  
  
"Fuck you." Sousan barked.  
  
Goten stared up at the huge man who filled the door. He walked dragging his left leg, but there didn't appear to be anything wrong with it. His eyes were cold and dark, his nose had been broken and improperly repaired, and a scar ran from one side of his face to the other. Goten positioned himself in front of Amma, not sure what would happen next.  
  
"What the hell did you two do to my ship?" he demanded.  
  
"Your ship?" Amma snapped.  
  
"Who takes care of this baby every time you mess it up? I should kick your ass for dragging me all the way here."  
  
"You stay away from her." Goten cried, moving into a fighting stance.  
  
"Kick his ass, kid," Sousan laughed from the couch, "If you take out his left leg, he's yours."  
  
Goten glanced over at Sousan uncertainly. At first it had seemed like the man was a threat, but there was no tension in the room, so he didn't know what to do.  
  
Amma put her hands on his shoulders, "It's all right, kid, Pheas is an old friend. I can handle him on my own." Sousan snorted, and she glared at him, "Why don't you run along home, and we'll see you tomorrow."  
  
Goten glared at Pheas one more time before he smiled at Amma, "'Kay, see you tomorrow." he scampered off.  
  
"Where are these so called 'reinforcements'?" Amma asked.  
  
Pheas spread his arms, "I'm it, baby. Luckily, Sirirs caught Norak's message, and acted on his own before telling the rest of the Council."  
  
"He always did like you, never understood why." Sousan shrugged. "I'm like the daughter he never had." She answered smugly.  
  
"Enough of the charming banter, what have you done to my ship?" Pheas asked again.  
  
"Here's the reports Amma was taking before you arrived." Sousan grinned, tossing him the paper she had been drawing on.  
  
"Did you take this report or did that kid do it?"  
  
"Honos was giving it." She protested, "You know how boring he can be."  
  
"She could have Norak give you a report, but she dislocated his jaw, so talking will be difficult."  
  
"That's my girl." Pheas said, proudly, "I have to admit I was a little worried you might be going soft when I saw that kid hanging around here."  
  
"Still kick your ass." She snorted. "The electronics are messed up. That's what's wrong with the ship. Personally I think it has something to do with faulty wiring to begin with."  
  
"Nothing to do with your destructive nature, right? What needs fixing first?"  
  
"The lock on my bedroom door is not working."  
  
"Hmm, that is a priority. Should get working on the right away. Maybe you might like to help."  
  
"Take care of your.tools?"  
  
"Could use someone to help with the tools." He mused.  
  
Sousan groaned and pulled a pillow over his head, "While you two stop with the thinly veiled sexual innuendo and just go fuck each other's brains out."  
  
"Hmm, I suppose repairs could wait." Amma mused.  
  
"I like Sousan's suggestion better." Pheas agreed.  
  
"Let's go." Amma grabbed his hand and started leading him toward her room.  
  
"Bridget sends her regards." Pheas called over his shoulder.  
  
"I really hate those two." Sousan muttered into the pillow, pulling it tight over his ears to block out the sound of Amma's mocking laughter, "Hey, do us all a favor and close the door this time!"  
  
Pheas shook Amma's shoulder; "You're not sleeping are you?"  
  
Amma moved farther away from him, "C'mon, I do need some sleep you know. That kid will be here at the crack of dawn, literally."  
  
He laughed, "Cut it out, you're almost sounding domestic. You're going to start creeping me out."  
  
"Fuck you." She snarled, swinging her foot back to kick him, but regretting the action when her heel connected with the hard metal of his shin.  
  
"It's been done, baby." He laughed, but then grew serious; "This is business I need to talk to you about."  
  
With a sigh, she sat up, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"  
  
"Sorry, I was distracted, besides I don't want anyone overhearing this."  
  
"Not even Sousan?" that frightened her.  
  
"Hear me out first, then decide if you want Sousan knowing."  
  
"Continue." She told him, not at all sure if she wanted him to.  
  
"This whole thing with the Saijin no Ouji is much bigger than any of us thought. There are those among the Council who are trying to make it a cause."  
  
"It always was a cause. The Tribunals, war crimes, all of it. I don't understand why this is any different."  
  
"Think about it. The Saijin no Ouji is the last of Frieza's elite, this will be the last chance they have. If he is released, there will be no justice."  
  
"And if he's killed there will be no justice. You know the whole thing is a farce." She wanted to be angry about the whole thing, but was just too damn tired of all of it.  
  
"I know. I wish you would have quit last time we talked about it." He said softly, "There's more."  
  
"Why are you telling me all this? Why didn't I hear it from Sirirs?"  
  
"They're watching him too closely. You remember he didn't send you on this mission? He agreed after the fact, but if he had known what was going on he wouldn't have let you go. There are members of the Council who want you to fail. I'm not sure who on the crew is in on it, but I have a pretty strong feeling you're being set up."  
  
"There is no way Sousan is in on it, you know that. I can't believe you would even suggest it." She raged, starting to get out of bed.  
  
Pheas grabbed her arm; "Of course he's not. It's just that subtlety is not one of his strong points. You don't want him accusing everyone and blowing the whole thing."  
  
"So what am I suppose to do?"  
  
"Don't fuck this one up." He shrugged.  
  
"Mind telling me how? The way I see it it's a no win situation."  
  
"True, but you'll figure a way. I have faith in you."  
  
"You are totally useless, you know that." She huffed, "I don't know why I keep you around."  
  
"That's not what you were saying earlier." He grinned, pulling her to him. "Shall I remind you of why you keep me around." 


	14. Smells Like Basement

Another chapter. Finally got off my butt and made the few corrections on these, that I could find so I could post this. Soon as I get this up, I'll start working on my new story. If anyone is interested in reading it, let email me and I'll let you know when I post (hopefully in a few days). Also I can let you know when I update if you send me an email. Hope you're enjoying the story, as you can see this is the beginning of the end.  
  
  
  
Chapter 14 Smells Like Basement  
  
The computer read out made no sense. Although it probably would to someone who knew how to read it, Amma thought. "Hmm," she nodded, trying to keep her face neutral.  
  
"You have no clue what it means, do you?" Pheas asked, shaking his head.  
  
"Nope, not a clue. Care to explain, and would you prefer I sit here and look stupid for a while more?"  
  
"Simply put, the systems didn't blow on their own."  
  
"You can make it a bit more complex," she rolled her eyes, "I already knew that much."  
  
"Someone purposely shorted them out. There is no way Ab breaking through that window could do that."  
  
"So the question is who? I think we can figure out why without too much trouble."  
  
"Why what?" Sousan asked, sauntering in, and snatching the readouts off the table.  
  
"I did not say you could look at those!" Amma snapped, trying to pull them out of his hand. He easily moved them out of her reach.  
  
"What now you'll have to kill me?"  
  
"It's a possibility." Pheas shrugged, "Can you understand what it says?"  
  
"We were wrong about Ab shorting out the electronics." He shrugged, "That still doesn't explain what happened or why."  
  
"You can not read those!" Amma cried, "You were listening outside the door, weren't you?"  
  
He let out an exaggerated sigh; "First of all, yes I can read this. Unlike you I paid attention to this kind of stuff when we were at the Academy. I didn't spend my time drinking and picking fights."  
  
"Don't forget sex." Pheas grinned, "She did a lot of that too."  
  
"Don't want to think about that, that's your territory anyway." Sousan shuddered, "And second of all, if this is so top secret why are you having the conversation where any asshole could walk in?"  
  
"Did you short the system out?" Amma asked, an evil glint in her eyes.  
  
"He really did fuck your brains out didn't he?" Sousan threw the readouts on the table, "To even ask a question like that."  
  
"Then it doesn't matter if you overheard does it?"  
  
"That's not the point he's trying to make." Pheas said reasonably.  
  
"I know that! He is pissing me off though." She took a moment to calm herself, "Where did the original short occur?"  
  
"Hard to say, I don't have a proper system reader. It'll take some checking. I'll have to go to all the trouble spots and manually check them."  
  
"Fine divide them up and have Mr. Know It All over there help you." She turned on her heel and left the room.  
  
"What did you do to her last night?" Sousan glared at Pheas.  
  
Amma could hear Goten coming long before he entered the room. She was glad for the distraction, the computer screen was starting to hurt her eyes and she wasn't making any progress on it anyway. "Hey, kid," she called, "you're late. I expected you here hours ago."  
  
"I was doing stuff." He said as he entered the room.  
  
"What kind of." she began, shutting down the computer, but the smell hit her before she could finish. It was damp, musty, earthy smell that was hard for her to place, "Have you been playing in the mud or wh." she froze staring up at the tall, turbaned figure who stood behind Goten.  
  
"This is Mr. Piccolo." Goten told her, hurrying over to sit on the arm of her chair.  
  
"Why is he here?" Amma muttered out of the side of her mouth.  
  
"He wanted to talk to you about Vegeta."  
  
"Guess I don't have to ask how he found out about all this right?"  
  
"It wasn't me this time." Goten pouted, "It was my mom, she told everyone."  
  
Amma rolled her eyes, "Of course." She motioned Goten closer so she could whisper in his ear, "Does he always smell like that?"  
  
Goten leaned away, scratching the back of his head, giggling, "Uh huh." His laughter was contagious, and Amma was forced to clamp her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing herself.  
  
Piccolo cleared his throat.  
  
Amma and Goten looked at him guiltily for a moment, then Amma said, "Hey, kid, why don't you run and find Abraxious? He should be up and around now, and he actually likes kids."  
  
"'Kay." Goten hopped off the arm of the chair and was off.  
  
Piccolo and Amma regarded each other for a long moment. "As much as I'd love to continue this stare down, I'm a busy person, so maybe we should just get right to the point."  
  
"That suits me."  
  
She motioned for him to take a seat, but he shook his head. Shrugging she said, "You have come to plead the Saijin no Ouji's case?"  
  
"No."  
  
She waited for him to elaborate, but when he stood silent, she asked, "Then why are you here?"  
  
"To tell you to release him."  
  
"Can't do that."  
  
"And why not?"  
  
"Until I know he is no longer a danger, I can not release him."  
  
"And what gives you the authority to judge that?"  
  
"The Intergalactic Council."  
  
"That's not what I meant." He folded his arms and glared at her.  
  
"I realize that, but if you are trying to make this into a theological discussion, forget it. You won't suddenly change my mind with that sort of argument. Regardless of what I decided, he will still have to face that judgement in due time."  
  
"If you believe that, why would you feel it necessary to judge him now?"  
  
"The laws of man must be answered to first." She shrugged. "I can give you my word that he has changed, and is no longer the danger he was."  
  
"You say that like it should mean something to me. Why should it matter anymore to me what you say than what his wife or anyone else says?"  
  
"He was once my enemy." Piccolo told her, "But he has changed since that time. I watched him sacrifice himself for this planet. He did this knowing he would not be rewarded in the afterlife."  
  
"He's still here. I would say that is some reward."  
  
"He didn't know that at the time. He committed a selfless act that alone should show that he's changed."  
  
"Possibly." She shrugged, "But apparently no one stays dead for long here, so how do I know what was in his head when he gave his life?"  
  
He was beginning to appear frustrated with her, "You sound like you're asking for guarantees, you should know that's not possible."  
  
"True." She admitted, "But I don't think I'm asking for much. All I want is for him to tell me he's changed. I don't think that's much, is it?"  
  
"For him, yes it is."  
  
"Then as I told him, there's nothing I can do."  
  
"He will never tell you what is truly in his heart. I only heard it once myself, when he was near death."  
  
"Men say a lot of things near death, that doesn't necessarily make them true."  
  
He glared at her; "You have an answer for everything don't you?"  
  
"No, I don't. I don't have an answer for the most important question of all. Does the Saijin no Ouji deserve to die? And at the rate this is going, I don't think I ever will."  
  
"But you would send him to his death anyway?"  
  
"If I have to, yes. Why you would want to save him, I don't know, but I have a feeling you're honest in what you tell me. You know him better than I, tell me how to save him." Amma had thought about touching him, but something held her back. She had a feeling she could trust his words.  
  
Piccolo came towards her, "If you want to know what is in Vegeta's heart, talk to Goku. After their fusion, he would know better than anyone except Vegeta." "Then bring him here." She shrugged, "Apparently I have an open door policy. Everyone else just shows up."  
  
Piccolo nodded once and left.  
  
Amma leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She didn't think a conversation could be so exhausting, and it wasn't over yet. Maybe she could have a quick nap before Piccolo returned.  
  
"Hey, Am," Sousan disturbed her plans, "I have the." he clamped his hand over his nose, "What the hell have you been doing in here?" 


	15. Space Monkeys and Circus Freaks

Okay, everyone can thank my stupid soon to be gone cat for my posting this now. Just because she sleeps all day, doesn't mean I want to play doorman for her all night. Plus Chichi said I should post it since I do have it all finished, and we all know you can't argue with Chichi. So here you go! Enjoy!  
  
  
  
Chapter 15 Space Monkeys and Circus Freaks  
  
"You really suck." Trunks snorted, crossing his arms and sitting back on the couch.  
  
"Shut up, you little shit, no one asked you." Amma snapped, trying hard to make the little figure on the screen do what she wanted it to.  
  
"Ha!" Goten cried, "Won again!"  
  
Amma threw down her controller in frustration, "I swear you're cheating." She muttered.  
  
"I am not!"  
  
"Like I said, you just suck." Trunks gloated, "Now get out of the way, it's my turn."  
  
"Hey, who invited you anyway." Amma snapped, "I'm not quitting until I win."  
  
Trunks flopped back on the couch, "I'll never get to play." He muttered.  
  
"I told you to shut up." Amma snapped again, clearly annoyed this time, "And you." She called to Sousan who sat next to Trunks unable to control his laughter, "Aren't you suppose to be checking the ship?"  
  
"Nah, I'm done with my half. I'm having more fun watching the kid kick your ass anyway. It has really gotta suck to be able to kill someone with your feet, but not be able to win a computer game against a child." He laughed.  
  
"You can not kill someone with your feet." Trunks snorted.  
  
"Yes, she can, I've seen her do it. You actually know a couple of ways don't you?" Sousan asked.  
  
"Yes, and if you two don't shut up I'll show you two of the ways." She said through gritted teeth as she held the controller with white knuckles trying to win the game.  
  
The flash of light in front of them distracted everyone's attention. From out of nowhere Piccolo had returned, his hand on the shoulder of a tall man with wild hair, a much shorter man stood on the other side.  
  
"That has got to be your dad." Amma said to Goten.  
  
"Uh huh." He grinned, "And his friend Krillen."  
  
Music came from the computer alerting everyone to the end of the game. Amma flung her paddle down, "That doesn't count! I was actually winning until I was distracted!" "Did we come at a bad time?" Krillen snickered.  
  
There was a sudden thump as Sousan flipped over the couch and scrambled for the door on his hands and knees.  
  
"Is it something we said?" Goku asked, chuckling, his hand behind his head.  
  
"Nah, he's afraid of ventriloquist dummies." Amma shrugged, holding her paddle out to Trunks, "You're turn."  
  
"'Bout time." He pouted, snatching the paddle from her hand.  
  
She glared at him, then turned to Goku, "Come with me, we have some things to discuss."  
  
"What about us?" Krillen demanded, "Don't you want to talk to us too?"  
  
"Not right now. Just stay here and keep an eye on the purple haired kid." Amma told them, "I'm sure he's up to something."  
  
Trunks turned to snap a comment at her causing him to lose a life on the game, "Hey that's not fair!"  
  
"So why's that little puppet guy here anyway?" Amma asked as she led Goku away from the main room.  
  
Goku laughed, "He was hiding out at our house. I guess his wife's mad at him for something, so he decided to come along."  
  
"So he has no useful information?"  
  
"He tries to help." Goku shrugged.  
  
"I imagine tries is the operative word in that sentence, huh?"  
  
He laughed, "Sure, I guess."  
  
Krillen watched them leave, then turned to Piccolo, "What did she mean by ventriloquist dummy?"  
  
Piccolo sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head.  
  
Sousan finally managed to summon the courage to leave his room. He wasn't sure what that guy was, but he knew he didn't want to see him again. He would have been more than happy to hide out in his room until he was sure they were gone, but knew that would only give Amma more ammunition against him. Not to mention what would happen when she told Pheas what had happened. He would have enough trouble living it down as it was, the longer he hid out the worse it would be. He crept quietly down the corridor, listening carefully for any sound, the guy was little he could be hiding anywhere. He was so intent on avoiding Krillen he didn't hear Pheas come up behind him.  
  
"Don't worry, he's still in the common room." Pheas said, loudly when he realized Sousan hadn't heard his approach.  
  
Sousan swung around startled, swinging a kick that would have hit Pheas in the stomach if he hadn't been expecting it.  
  
"Piss yourself?" Pheas laughed, "You really should talk to someone about that fear of yours."  
  
"Fuck off." Sousan snarled.  
  
"Where's Amma? I think I figured out what's going on with the ship."  
  
"You mean about Norak?"  
  
"What? How did you know?"  
  
"Its called common sense. Who else would do it? He and Ascapaulus are the only ones who aren't part of the regular crew. And if it was Ascpaulus, then Bridget would have to be involved."  
  
"So Amma knows then?"  
  
Sousan shrugged, "I haven't told her, did you? She was in a pissy mood last time I saw her because she was losing computer games to the kids. I didn't think it would be a good idea to bring it up then. Besides, he's in the infirmary, what can he do?"  
  
"She's going to be pissed if we."  
  
The crash from down the hall distracted them. It was followed by other sounds, which sounded suspiciously like a fight.  
  
"In the infirmary, huh? What can he do?" Pheas muttered, trying to keep up with Sousan, who was speeding toward the sound.  
  
I should have warned her, Sousan thought, she's so preoccupied, of course, she wouldn't have thought of it. He slammed the door open, afraid of what was happening inside. The splinters of what was once a table flying at the open door forced him to jump back to avoid being hit. Panic seized him, and he was almost afraid to look. Whatever he had been expecting to see, the scene before him was not it.  
  
Amma sat crossed legged on the floor watching Goku intently. There were pieces of broken furniture around the room, but neither appeared angry. "See that's not how.." Both turned toward the open door appearing confused. "We're talking here." Amma snapped.  
  
"No, you're not. Furniture does not get broken during a conversation." Sousan snapped.  
  
"You don't talk to her much do you?" Pheas laughed.  
  
Goku looked around the room, "Oops, I guess I got a little carried away." He chuckled nervously.  
  
"Don't worry about it. Sousan is just having a bad day." Amma told him, leading him from the room, "He was showing me something!" she hissed as she passed Sousan.  
  
"So you've found out what you needed to know about Vegeta?" Goku asked as they entered the common room.  
  
"I think I have." She smiled, and touched his arm again, "Thank you."  
  
"Does that mean we can go?" Krillen asked anxiously, glancing at the door.  
  
Sousan refused to enter the room, and nervously peered around the corner of the door. He caught Krillen looking at him and jumped back into the corridor.  
  
"Yeah, we can go." Goku told him, smiling at Amma, "I know you'll do the right thing."  
  
"Let's get out of here." Krillen said, "That guy is really creeping me out."  
  
Goku touched two fingers to his forehead, and they were gone.  
  
Amma continued to stare at the spot where they had been, "Sousan, have Res and Honos go to the infirmary and formally arrest Norak."  
  
"You knew?" Sousan demanded.  
  
"I'm not a total idiot, thank you. Pheas, can you be sure there are no more surprises waiting for us around the ship?"  
  
"I've checked everything over. A day or so of repairs should take care of it."  
  
"Good." She walked over to the computer and popped Trunks in the back of the head, "You, run home and tell your mother I want to see her here in half an hour."  
  
He turned to glare at her, "Do it yourself." He snapped.  
  
Amma stared at him hard. He tried to stare back for a few moments, then gave, "Fine." He huffed throwing the computer paddle down and storming from the ship.  
  
"Are you going to try and beat me again?" Goten asked, hopefully.  
  
"Not right now, kid. I have some things to do." She sat in the chair Trunks had abandoned; "Your dad is definitely an interesting guy, kid." She told him, still trying to sort through all the feelings she had picked up.  
  
"Yeah," Goten agreed, "He's cool."  
  
Sousan came back, "Norak is gone." 


	16. I Can't Do Everything, You Know

Chapter 16 I Can't Do Everything, You Know  
  
The first explosion happened with in minutes of Sousan's announcement. It took out most of the lighting and other nonvital functions of the ship. Amma knew the emergency power wouldn't last long, that would mean the security system wouldn't last long. The loss of the security system would not be good, the ship wasn't anywhere near full of prisoners, but there were enough to make things complicated if they were able to get loose. Poor Aescapulus had managed to tell them all he knew about what Norak had planned and why. Unfortunately there was plenty of information on the why as opposed to the what.  
  
Vegeta wasn't terribly surprised when the door burst open and Amma hurried in. He'd heard the explosion and knew something was going on. He was surprised to see Goten hurrying after her, his arms full of armor and supplies.  
  
"All right, Your Highness, I'll make this quick." She told him, pulling her hair back and tying it away from her face, "You're free. I'm letting you go. The kid here will take you to meet with your family. We don't have much time, so you need to do as your told." She turned to Goten and barked, "Gloves," snapping her fingers.  
  
Goten frantically shuffled through the pile of things she had thrown at him earlier before rushing to prison, trying to find what she'd requested.  
  
"I take orders from no one." Vegeta growled, trying to stand. He was surprised by his lack of balance and double vision, but determined not to show anything was wrong.  
  
"Look, I don't have time to argue with you about this. Radio." She snapped at Goten, "Sousan and Abraxious have gone to find your family and take them to safety. Goten will take you to them."  
  
"If my family needs protecting, I will be the one to do it."  
  
"You can barely stand right now, much less protect anyone, you stupid fuck." She raged, "You've been drugged. I'm not sure how long it will take for it to wear off, but you won't have time to do anything for a while. You will not be able to protect your family much less yourself. Not to mention the fact that all hell could break loose here at any moment, and I can't babysit you."  
  
"Maybe I should stay with you." Goten said nervously, "I could help."  
  
"You'll be a bigger help if you get the prince out of here." Amma told him, ruffling his hair, "Plus I can handle it."  
  
Goten glanced nervously at Vegeta.  
  
"I will do nothing until I know what is going on." Vegeta crossed his arms determinedly.  
  
Amma ignored him, instead pulling the bench opposite the bed from the wall. She flung it across the room where it smashed into a wall, but she was too busy with the floor to care. She tore up a panel and began entering codes into the computer keyboard hidden beneath; hoping it would still work with the little power left from the auxiliary power. A much larger panel popped open, revealing a tunnel. "Bet you wished you'd known this was here a day ago, huh?" she couldn't help grinning at Vegeta.  
  
"For all your righteousness, it would appear you're nothing more than a common smuggler." He sneered.  
  
"I never said I was righteous. Besides its not piracy if it's government sanctioned." She shrugged, "This will lead you out. It's the safest way right now."  
  
"I will not." Vegeta began, but he was interrupted as another explosion rocked the ship.  
  
"Amma, are you there?" Pheas's voice came from the radio at her hip; "The security system is out. Get out of there now."  
  
"Yeah, I hear that." Amma told him, from the noises in the corridor, she could tell that the cells were open. "I'm getting the prince and the kid out of here, then I'll be up to join you."  
  
Pheas could hear the excited tone of her voice, and knew there would be trouble. "You're escorting them off the ship?" he asked hopefully.  
  
She laughed, "See you in a bit." Turning to Goten and Vegeta, she motioned to the trap door, "Out, now."  
  
Vegeta refused to move simply stood staring at her. Goten looked between the two of them, unsure of what to do.  
  
Amma didn't take her eyes off the door, "You do realize they won't all come this way, don't you? We're not that far from your house, and if they should get to your wife." she glanced at him quickly, "As you said, some things are worse than death."  
  
He glared at her for a moment, but finally gave in and stared toward the trapdoor. Amma's sudden shout caught both Vegeta's and Goten's attention. The lightening bolt she aimed at the cell door blew it from the hinges and into the wall of the corridor.  
  
"You missed." A voice growled from the corridor, a moment before the man appeared in the doorway. He was dirty and ragged, and very angry.  
  
Before anyone could move, Amma had flipped toward him, her bare feet connecting solidly with his chest, followed by a sickening crunch. He slid to the floor, blood dripping from his mouth. She regained her feet, cupped the man's chin with one hand, the other on the top of his head, and effortlessly snapped his neck. She turned to Goten and Vegeta who had paused in the trap door, "Out, now!" she snapped, a smirk on her face, a glint in her eyes as she stared toward the corridor.  
  
Goten reluctantly tugged on Vegeta's arm, "I hope she'll be all right." He muttered pulling Vegeta into the tunnel.  
  
"I'm sure you don't need to worry about her." Vegeta told him, "Now give me that light so we can get out of here."  
  
Abraxious paced nervously around the kitchen. Sousan could see his agitation and quickly called Amma on the radio. "The woman and boy are gone. We've searched the house, and they're not here."  
  
"It's a big place, are you sure they couldn't be somewhere else?" she panted, "I'm a little busy right now." There was the sound of a smack, followed by a cry of pain.  
  
Sousan moved away from Abraxious, the last thing he wanted was for Ab to go berserk, and hearing Amma in a fight would be just the thing to push him over. "What's going on?"  
  
"I'm rearresting the prisoners. Unfortunately they are resisting." This was followed by a scream of pain. "There's one more somewhere around here, but I think I have a minute."  
  
"So what do you want us to do? Do you need help there?"  
  
"I've got this under control. Pheas is busy with the ship, so all we need right now is to find Norak. I don't think he's still on the ship, so I guess see if you can find him somewhere on the grounds. I'll see if I can catch up with the Saijin no Ouji and the kid. If you can't find the others, meet us in twenty minutes whether you find them or not. Tell Ab I'll see in him a few minutes." She added with a laugh, knowing he probably needed to hear that.  
  
Abraxious relaxed and went off in search of Bulma.  
  
"He's settled down now, but if things get out of control." Sousan told her.  
  
"We'll worry about that when the time comes. Just keep an eye on him for me."  
  
"C'mon," Goten told Vegeta as they left the tunnel beneath the ship, "I told Amma we should meet by the gravity room."  
  
"Trunks and Bulma are going to be there?" Vegeta wasn't sure if he could make it across the grounds, but was not going to admit it. He hoped if he kept talking it would keep attention away from his sluggish movements. The effects of the drug they had given him were only getting worse as time went on.  
  
Goten glanced at him nervously, he knew there was something wrong, but wasn't sure what. He just wanted to get to the gravity room and meet up with Amma. She would know what to do, and Goten felt more comfortable around her than Vegeta anyway.  
  
"Dad!" Trunks cried, running toward them, throwing his arms around Vegeta's waist.  
  
Any other time, Vegeta would have pushed him away, but by keeping his arm around Trunks' shoulder he could keep his balance without having to ask for help. "Where's your mother?"  
  
"She's gone!" Trunks cried, "I was coming back to the ship to get help." He turned to Goten, "That guy the commander doesn't like, he took my mom. I would have stopped him, but he had a gun again, and I didn't think I could help her without her getting hurt."  
  
"Then it was wise to get help." Vegeta told him, trying hard to get his eyes to focus, "Where did he take her?"  
  
"I don't know. I wasn't close enough to hear what he was telling her."  
  
"Why aren't you already at that gravity room thing?" Amma demanded, coming up on them. "What are you doing here?" she demanded of Trunks. "Where's your."  
  
"Commander," Norak's voice suddenly came over Amma's radio, "It's time to end this game."  
  
"I didn't realize we were playing a game." She snapped, "Now get your ass back here, so we can take you to the Council and let them deal with you."  
  
"Not until I finish my work here."  
  
"And what work is that?"  
  
"Bring me the Saijin no Ouji and we will discuss it."  
  
"Fuck you. Get your ass back here now and maybe I won't kill you."  
  
"No, you bring me the Saijin no Ouji, and maybe I won't kill his wife." 


	17. You'll Miss Me When I'm Dead

Chapter 17 You'll Miss Me When I'm Dead  
  
"We're here." Amma called, "Now stop being a coward and come out." She knew Norak was hiding somewhere, but wasn't going to get dragged into whatever trap he had set up. She had enough to worry about as it was. Vegeta wasn't looking good and she was worried about what drug Norak may have used on him.  
  
"Where are Sousan and Abraxious?" Norak demanded, still refusing to give up his hiding place.  
  
"You're been monitoring the radio transmissions, so you know where everyone is as well as I."  
  
Norak came around the side of the house, warily, keeping Bulma close, the gun to her head.  
  
"What did you do to Vegeta?" Bulma wailed. He looked as though he was dying; the wall of the gravity room was all that was keeping him standing.  
  
"I was going to ask that myself." Amma told him, "If you wanted to kill him, you should have just done it."  
  
"I don't want to kill him. I need to take him back to the Council."  
  
"The Council has left the decision up to me. What good will it do to bring him to them, if they know I've released him?" she demanded, none of this made sense to her.  
  
"Sirirs put you in charge. He is not the Council." Norak snapped, "His days are numbered anyway. It is my job to make sure the Saijin no Ouji stands trial and pays for his crimes."  
  
"On whose authority?"  
  
"Someone who is smart enough to know that there are plenty in the Alliance who want someone to pay for Frieza's crimes. This may all be a game to you and that idiot Sousan, but there are enough of us who want to be on the winning side. Sirirs and his sentimentality will not last long."  
  
"Then why send me? It wasn't Sirirs' decision to send me, why would the Council send me of all people?" "To test you. If you didn't do what they wanted, I was to be sure you failed miserably."  
  
"This is all politics?" Bulma demanded, "You disrupt our lives for someone's political gain?"  
  
"It wouldn't be the first time." Amma shrugged, though she was becoming angry, she wished she had quit when she had a chance.  
  
"There's something wrong with Dad." Trunks cried. Vegeta was sliding down the side of the gravity room, heading quickly into unconsciousness.  
  
"What did you give him?" Amma demanded, "Are you trying to kill him now?"  
  
"It's a TIC, the more he struggles the more sedative it gives him." Norak told him, "I can't control him on my own."  
  
"How do you plan on getting out of here? You know we won't help you."  
  
"Once my business is done, I will contact my superiors and they will come for me and the Saijin no Ouji. I do need you to get the others so we can finish this business." He told her, pushing the gun against Bulma's temple.  
  
Amma glanced over her shoulder at Vegeta. "He's dying you realize. I would think you need him alive for a trial." She started over toward him.  
  
"Stay away from him." Norak growled.  
  
"It makes no difference to me whether he dies or not, but I doubt your superiors will be happy with you if he does."  
  
She crouched next to Vegeta motioning Trunks and Goten to her. "There should be something connected to the back of his neck," she told Goten, "when I distract Norak, you pull it off quickly and crush it. He should be all right then. Trunks, are you fast?"  
  
"Sure." He shrugged.  
  
"As soon as you see a chance, I want you to get your mom out of the way."  
  
"What are you doing over there?" Norak demanded.  
  
"Checking the Saijin no Ouji." She snapped, "Although why I'm trying to save your ass is beyond me."  
  
"How will I know when?" Trunks whispered.  
  
"You'll know." She assured him, "He's all right for now." She said louder for Norak's benefit, "You keep an eye on him, kid." She moved forward, Trunks close behind her.  
  
As soon as she blocked Norak's view, Goten rolled Vegeta over and found the small round device attached to the back of his neck. He quickly pulled it off and crushed it between his fingers. Vegeta's eyes sprang open and he seemed to regain some of his strength. Although he didn't stand immediately, taking in the situation instead.  
  
"Now, I want you to call the others. We'll end this now." Norak snapped.  
  
Amma removed the radio from her belt, "Are you going to shoot us all, or just a few at a time? I mean you have thought this all out haven't you? I've already taken care of the other prisoners so you won't have any help there."  
  
Norak flinched, slightly, obviously not expecting that.  
  
The wind began to pick up, the clouds overhead suddenly darkening. Thunder boomed in the distance.  
  
"Stop that." Norak growled.  
  
"I'm not doing anything. I'm trying to call Sousan and Ab." She waved the radio at him.  
  
The winds picked up howling through the grounds. Norak looked around nervously, tightening his grasp on Bulma. The rains came next; heavy drenching rain that stung their skin as the wind blew it. The lightning bolt struck the ground a few feet behind Norak. The sudden light and sound, causing him to turn, loosening his grip on Bulma.  
  
Amma nudged Trunks forward slightly, and the two ran at Norak. Trunks grabbed Bulma and pulled her away as Amma swung her foot at his hand. Her foot knocked the gun from his hand, and grazed his face, causing him to lose his balance on the rain slick grass and fall over.  
  
"I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to make a move." Sousan called to her appearing on the roof of the gravity room, "Do you know how hard it is to not only keep this storm going, but direct a bolt of lightening?"  
  
Bulma lifted her head from where she lay on the grass, "You mean to say he's making it rain?"  
  
"It's not as hard as he would make it sound." Amma snorted, "He just likes to whine."  
  
"If it was so easy why didn't you do it?" Sousan snorted.  
  
"It would seem," Vegeta said standing, finally, "that I have won the bet."  
  
"You didn't win anything. I found out all the information I needed."  
  
"Not from me." He smirked.  
  
"You were suppose to keep me from finding out, that was the deal."  
  
"And how was I suppose to do that locked in a prison cell?"  
  
She grinned, "You should have thought of that."  
  
"Dumb ass," Sousan yelled, "You didn't kill him, you realize."  
  
Amma turned to see that Norak had regained his feet, and retrieved the gun. "I may not be able to bring him to trial, but I can end his evil." He pointed the gun at Vegeta.  
  
Without thinking Amma rushed forward, planning to disarm Norak. There was a muffled shot and blood geysered between them. The smell of burned flesh filled the air. Time seemed to stop and in slow motion Amma and Norak both fell backwards. Norak held his ribs moaning. Amma still clutched the barrel of the gun, oblivious to her burning flesh, with every heartbeat more blood spewed from the damaged artery in her shoulder.  
  
"No, no, no." Sousan wailed, leaping from the roof and rushing to Amma's side. He pulled the gun from her hands, trying to ignore the fact that bits of her glove and flesh came with it. "What did you do?" he pushed on her shoulder, desperately trying to stop the blood.  
  
She smiled at him weakly, "Oops."  
  
The roar shook the ground, blocking out the sound of the thunder. Norak desperately scrambled to his feet, searching for any kind of weapon as Abraxious charged. He found a knife in his belt, and held it forward, knowing it wasn't enough. Abraxious easily knocked it away along with the hand the held it. Norak screamed in pain as blood poured from his severed wrist. Abraxious lifted him by the throat with one and plunged his other into Norak's chest, pulling his still beating heart from his chest before tossing his dead body away.  
  
Shuffling over to Amma, Abraxious dropped the heart next to her and fell to his knees. The wail starting deep in his throat, increasing to a bone chilling howl.  
  
"Is she." Goten began appearing next to Sousan.  
  
"Not yet." Sousan choked, "But soon." He pulled the radio from his belt and called,"Pheas, I need your help. Amma." his voice trailed off brokenly.  
  
"I'm on my way." Pheas's voice held a note of dread.  
  
"Why?" Vegeta asked, confused.  
  
"To protect you." Sousan growled at him.  
  
"She didn't." he began  
  
"No, she didn't have to, but she did it anyway." Sousan took Abraxious's hands and set them on Amma's shoulder to stop the bleeding, while he stood. He stretched one hand to the sky, his lips moving in a silent chant. The dark clouds parted, and the rain slowed and eventually stopped. One final bolt of lightening shot through the sky and landed in the palm of his hand, with one swift move of his arm, he threw the bolt at Norak's body causing it to burst into flame.  
  
"You should have left it, let the crows have it." Pheas told him, kneeling next to Amma, "What did you do now, girl?" he whispered, resting his forehead on hers. 


	18. Welcome to My World

I hate to see people cry! Good thing this is online, and I can't actually see you crying. To make up for all the tissues you're using up, I'll post the last two chapters. Hope you like them!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 18  
  
Welcome to My World  
  
The ticking of the clock was loud in the quiet room, interrupted on occasion by Abraxious's distant howls.  
  
"What are we going to do about him?" Pheas asked, looking at Sousan.  
  
Sousan raised his head from his hands; "Amma will take care of it when the time comes."  
  
"She doesn't have the strength."  
  
Sousan tossed a knife on the table; "She'll have to use this."  
  
"Wait a minute!" Bulma cried, "You're going to kill him?"  
  
Sousan and Pheas turned and looked at her with dull eyes. "That's what they both would want." Sousan told her.  
  
"She's the only one who can control him." Pheas explained, "When she's gone." he couldn't finish, and instead left the table and went to look out the window.  
  
"This is ridiculous! You're all acting like she could die at any moment. The bleeding has stopped, she should be fine, given time." Bulma cried.  
  
"It may look like the bleeding has stopped, but it's only internalized. Without a proper doctor, she will bleed out and die. If Aescapulus was still alive, she might have had a chance, but there's no way to get a doctor here in time." Sousan told her, all emotion gone from his voice.  
  
"We could take her to a hospital." Trunks offered.  
  
"The doctors here wouldn't know what to do." Pheas told him without turning around, "You seem to forget we're not from Earth."  
  
"The dragonballs." Bulma said, excitedly, "We could find them and wish her back."  
  
"No!" Sousan cried, shoving away from the table so violently the chair he was sitting on fell over, "I will not allow you to dishonor her sacrifice further by bringing her back."  
  
Pheas left the window, and came to stand next to Sousan, "They don't understand." He told him softly.  
  
"The body has to be intact, right? That's what Amma said, wasn't it?" he snatched the knife off the table, "I'll burn her before they have a chance." He glared once at Vegeta, who stood away from the others, watching them emotionlessly. Then he stormed from the kitchen, knocking the door from its hinge in his anger.  
  
Goten leaped up and quickly followed him out the door.  
  
"What was that about?" Bulma asked Pheas, who had taken a seat at the table.  
  
He ran a hand across his face; "It all has to do with the culture they are from. Amma offered her life for another's. It would be wrong for you to change that. It's not your choice." He glanced at Vegeta out of the corner of his eye. He turned back to Bulma; "Neither of us would let you do that, no matter what your intentions were."  
  
"So you're just going to let her die?" Bulma couldn't believe what she was hearing.  
  
"It's not for us to change." Pheas told her, leaving the room.  
  
"And she said we were insane." Bulma muttered shaking her head.  
  
Abraxious's howling was the first thing Amma heard when she became aware of what was going on. She knew she had been in and out of consciousness, but she wasn't sure of how long she had been out. The room was dark, and she had no idea what time it was. "Ab, get Sousan, and tell him it's time." She whispered, knowing she didn't have long, but she couldn't leave Ab behind.  
  
He looked at her uncertainly for a moment, but finally rose and shuffled from the room.  
  
She closed her eyes, and tried to concentrate on holding onto consciousness. It wouldn't be long and it would be over. It wasn't even so painful anymore, she was just tired, so tired.  
  
She felt someone enter the room, but was too tired to even open her eyes. She stretched out her hand for the knife Sousan would have brought, "Where's Ab?"  
  
Instead of a knife being placed in her hand, something small and hard was shoved into her mouth. "Eat this." A gruff voice told her.  
  
It was either choke or chew, and she was forced to eat the bitter bean. No sooner had she swallowed than she felt a warm callused hand against her cheek. The pain and fatigue were fading, but she was overwhelmed by emotions, and quickly sat up. "Why did you do that? I already let you go."  
  
He shrugged, "I was tired of listening to that creature of yours howl. Besides, I wanted you healed when I give you the punctured lung I owe you."  
  
She shook her head, sadly, sitting back on the pillows, "I was wrong about you." She said quietly.  
  
His brows furrowed in confusion, "What do you mean?"  
  
"I thought I would find something that would surprise me, but you're still an asshole."  
  
He continued to glare at her.  
  
"Don't get me wrong, there's no crime in that, so you're still free." She grinned at him, "And you still lost the bet, even worse now."  
  
"We will settle this later, but you will have a punctured lung."  
  
"You're forgetting the fact that I took a bullet for you, buddy."  
  
"I don't remember asking you to do that. I could have handled that just fine, obviously better than you did."  
  
"With the double vision?" she sneered, "As I remember you were so drugged up, you couldn't even stand without help. Or am I thinking of someone else? See I seem to remember having Goten pull the TIC off that guy so he wouldn't die."  
  
"You may keep whatever delusions you feel necessary." He told her in a dismissing tone.  
  
"I'm so glad I have your approval." She told him rolling her eyes.  
  
"I'm telling you she's better." Goten voice drifted into the room from the corridor.  
  
"Look, kid," Sousan's voice sounded tired, and tense, "I don't know what you think, but she's not going to get better."  
  
The door opened and Goten paused only a moment before rushing forward to leap on the bed and throw his arms around Amma. "I told them you were all right, but they wouldn't believe me."  
  
"Hey, don't squeeze so hard, I'm still banged up here." Amma said, trying to loosen Goten's grip on her.  
  
Sousan finally managed to enter the room, and close his mouth, "What happened?"  
  
"It was a miracle." She told him in a hushed voice, "I thought I was dead, and then there was this bright light and angels, and now I'm fine."  
  
"Cool." Goten breathed.  
  
"She's delusional." Vegeta snorted heading to the door.  
  
"She's full of shit. That's for sure. I suppose that's your way of saying you're not telling me?" Sousan asked.  
  
"Does it matter?" she caught Vegeta's eye as he was leaving and nodded her head slightly in way of thanks.  
  
He tipped his head in answer and raised two fingers to her as he left the room.  
  
"Wait a minute," she said to Goten, "Did he just flip me off?" 


	19. I Have the Scars to Prove It

Okay, since everyone seemed in agreement that there were a lot of loose ends, I tried to tie them up. I really appreciate all the feedback! Hopefully, this will give everyone some closure. LOL! Let me know what you think! Hope you like it!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 19  
  
I Have the Scars to Prove It  
  
The bruises were long gone, it hadn't taken more than a day, and the only thing to remind her of the whole thing was the scar on her shoulder. That and the fact they had been stuck on the stupid planet for an extra few days due to the repairs. It wasn't so bad though, Bulma had appreciated the fact that she had taken a bullet and the crew had been allowed to take rooms inside the Capsule Corp. complex. The rooms were far nicer than anything they had on the ship and none of them were anxious to get back to the Council.  
  
"Why are you still here?" Vegeta demanded, "I thought you were fixing your ship and leaving?" It seemed that every time he turned around she was there. Of course, since she spent most of her time hanging out in the kitchen he had plenty of chances to run into her.  
  
It was one of the highlights of Amma's day to have these conversations with him. He would get so angry, and she couldn't resist teasing him, it was too much fun. "We are, but I couldn't leave without seeing you one last time." She batted her eyes at him.  
  
"I can still kill you, don't forget that."  
  
"Can, but won't. There's a difference, you know."  
  
"Yes, there is, but it won't matter to you when you're dead."  
  
She pretended to pout, "You keep talking like that, I'm going to think you don't like me."  
  
He glared at her; "To think otherwise would be delusional on your part."  
  
"Fine, be that way." She shrugged, "We're leaving tomorrow night at sunset, then you won't have to see me ever again. That is if I can convince your wife to let Pheas leave. She's had him locked in her lab all day, makes you wonder what they are doing in there." She widened her eyes suggestively.  
  
"I'm sure my wife would have no interest in that ugly mate of yours." He snorted, then muttered to himself, "Your interest is puzzling as well."  
  
"I heard that." She cried triumphantly, "There was a compliment in there somewhere, I'm sure of it."  
  
"Think what you want," he shrugged, reaching for the bag of chips she was eating.  
  
Amma quickly snatched them away, "Get your own. These are mine."  
  
"This is my house, everything in it is mine." "Maybe I wouldn't be forced to eat all your food, if you hadn't made such a glutton of yourself on my ship."  
  
"If that was your concern you shouldn't have had me there in the first place." He snarled, "You should have taken me to your stupid Council and been done with it."  
  
"Goad me all you want, you're still not getting this bag. You'll have to kill me first." She clutched the bag to her chest and leaped away from the table.  
  
"Don't think I won't." he snapped forming a ki blast in his palm and aiming it towards her.  
  
"Take your best shot." She challenged a glint in her eyes.  
  
The ruined back door banged open, distracting them and Sousan wandered in. He took one look at the situation and called, "Mom, Vegeta and Amma are fighting again." He noticed the bag Amma had clutched to her chest, and snatched them away, "Thanks, that's what I was looking for," and he left.  
  
The ki blast knocked the door from its last hinge, and the lightening bolt started it on fire.  
  
"Hey! You two almost hit me!" Sousan cried, watching the door burn from a safe distance.  
  
"Will you two behave!" Bulma raged, storming into the kitchen, "What did I tell you two about fighting in the house like that?"  
  
The sound of the crickets chirping suddenly ceased. Amma didn't bother to open her eyes, she knew who it was. She waited, wondering if he would say anything, she was sure he didn't know she was awake, if it hadn't been for years of training, she wouldn't have heard him. The waiting finally became too much and she said, "I know you're there. Is there something you wanted or where you just planning on standing out here staring at me?"  
  
Vegeta stepped out of the shadows; "Your snoring was waking the neighbors."  
  
She sat up straighter in the chair, pulling the blanket around her shoulders, "I'm not going to argue with you about whether I snore or not. You see, the only ones who have any right to bring up my sleeping habits, are the men who share my bed, after we've fucked. You don't fall into that category, so fuck off."  
  
"You are vulgar, you know that?"  
  
"And you're a tight ass, so I guess neither one of us should be making judgements on the other, huh?"  
  
He snorted, and turned away, suddenly finding something interesting on the other side of the lawn.  
  
"I'm tired." She sighed, "I'm not in the mood for games. Are you going to ask or not?"  
  
"What could I possibly want to ask you?" he snorted, keeping his back to her.  
  
"Why." She said, simply.  
  
"I know why, it had something to do with some sentimental bullshit Kakortt said to you." He snarled.  
  
"Piccolo told me that Goku knew you better than anyone else did. But he was wrong, you know. Goku may know a lot of the facts about your life and the things you've done, but he doesn't understand. We both know he could never understand."  
  
He turned to face her, smirking, "But you understand, is that what you're saying?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You understand nothing." He snarled, eyes blazing.  
  
She ran her hands over her face, "Let's just drop this okay? I'm too tired to have this conversation now."  
  
He couldn't let it go. Her words were like an accusation; "Your ignorance is stunning. You may be right when you say Kakortt could never understand, but neither could you, no matter."  
  
"I hear them, too!" she cried, leaping to her feet.  
  
The anger in her voice froze Vegeta, "Who?" he managed to whisper.  
  
"All of them, I have no idea who they are. It doesn't matter; they are all the same. I can't remember them all, and when I try all I see is one. I try not to remember it makes the screams worse."  
  
He backed away from her, dropping into a chair, "At night." He said softly.  
  
She sat down again, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders, "It's worse then." She agreed, "But I do understand, you see. That is why I let you go. Your death wouldn't have brought any of them back, and then I would have had to deal with the guilt. You might have been free of it, but I can't do it any more."  
  
He stared at her suspiciously, "And Kakortt told you this?"  
  
She laughed, "Not in so many words. He told me you were more concerned with keeping what you have then destroying worlds. He gave me a lesson in ki blasts though. Scared the shit out of Sousan. It was fun."  
  
He closed his eyes with a sigh, leaning back in the chair, "And you took his word?"  
  
"Of course not. He was willing to let me see what was in his heart; some of the things there were from you. After the fusion, I guess that happened. It wasn't hard to figure out which were yours by the way." She shrugged, "There's not much difference between you and I."  
  
He looked at with a raised eyebrow; "You believe that?"  
  
She stood up with a laugh, pulling the blanket up so she could walk, "You are a bigger asshole. But yeah," she paused for a second as she passed him, putting her hand on his shoulder, "I do."  
  
He would have reached up and taken her hand, but she was gone before he had the chance.  
  
She stopped and turned back to face him, "I'll sleep in the house, so my snoring doesn't wake the neighbors. I take it you and Bulma are done for the night, so I can actually get some sleep?" she laughed.  
  
He threw a halfhearted ki blast at her.  
  
She laughed louder, and blew him a kiss. "Good night." She called running to the house.  
  
The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon. Pheas and Amma slipped outside leaving the other to make final preparations for their departure. They sat on the ground, hiding in the shadow of the ship, Pheas leaning his back against the ship, while Amma leaned against him.  
  
"Everything is ready to go then?" Amma asked, though the last thing she wanted to do was move. This would be the last quiet moment she would have for a while, and she didn't want it to end.  
  
"Yeah," Pheas told her, but by the tone in his voice, she could tell he felt the same way.  
  
"Then we'll go as soon as the sun goes down."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"It's not totally gone, so we don't have to get up yet." She told him.  
  
The ship's engines flared to life, and Sousan's voice called above the noise, "Let's go! Get your lazy asses up here or we leave you here!"  
  
Amma rose and helped Pheas to his feet, "Time to go. I hate him sometimes, you know."  
  
"I would think you'd be glad to get out of here." Sousan told her as they headed for the cockpit.  
  
"I am mostly, I mean, I'm going to miss the kid and everything, but I'm not looking forward to facing the Council." Amma told him, taking her seat and strapping in.  
  
"We'll get you a puppy, how's that?" Pheas asked.  
  
"A big one with lots of sharp teeth. After I finish the three weeks of reports and meetings for the Council." She told them.  
  
"You're exaggerating. It won't be that bad." Sousan rolled his eyes.  
  
"For you. It won't be bad for you."  
  
"Great." Pheas muttered, "She'll be crabby for days now."  
  
"I told you I'm quitting, didn't I?" she asked them as the ship lifted off the ground and disappeared into the night sky.  
  
"A couple of times, yes." Sousan answered.  
  
"This time I mean it." She assured them.  
  
"You meant it last time." Sousan sighed, dreading the trip home. 


End file.
